Detecting and identifying Personally Identifiable Information (PII) in the OnPremise File servers?

Question

What are my options or the steps I can take to leverage the Microsoft Purview or FSRM to detect and identify Personally Identifiable Information (PII) in the OnPremise File servers, SharePoint or OneDrive?

All of the Windows Servers OnPremise running Windows Server 2016 - 2019.

Answer 1

Hi @EnterpriseArchitect

Greetings & Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum! Thanks for posting your query!

To detect and identify Personally Identifiable Information (PII) in On-Premise File Servers, SharePoint, or OneDrive, you have a few options leveraging Microsoft tools such as Microsoft Purview and File Server Resource Manager (FSRM). Below are the steps and options you can consider for leveraging these tools:

Microsoft Purview - This is the recommended approach for comprehensive PII discovery and management. It's a cloud-based service that can scan your on-premises file servers (using scan agents) and identify sensitive data using built-in and custom Sensitive Information Types (SITs). Purview also offers data governance features like sensitivity labeling and data loss prevention (DLP).

File Server Resource Manager (FSRM) - This is a more basic approach suitable for simpler scenarios. FSRM allows you to create file screens that use regular expressions to detect patterns that resemble PII. However, it lacks the advanced features of Purview and doesn't directly integrate with SharePoint or OneDrive.

Integration and Automation:

Combining the capabilities of Microsoft Purview and FSRM can create a robust strategy for PII detection and governance.

Automating Detection - For FSRM, you can use PowerShell scripts to automate tasks like generating reports and managing file screens. Purview also has its own APIs and automation capabilities for more advanced scenarios.

Hybrid Approach - A hybrid approach might involve using FSRM for basic file screening and alerts on on-premises file servers, while leveraging Purview for more comprehensive PII discovery, classification, and governance across the entire data estate, including cloud services and SharePoint/OneDrive.

For most organizations, Microsoft Purview provides a more robust and scalable solution for PII detection and management. FSRM can be a useful supplementary tool for basic file screening.

I hope this information helps. Please do let us know if you have any further queries.

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