A new tool to help corporations and government agencies combat problematic or sensitive data has been launched by AccessData Group, a provider of integrated digital forensics and e-discovery software. AD RTK (Risk Toolkit) locates potential information risks - very often, authorised data residing in unauthorised locations, such as classified information on an unclassified network - and remediates it across the enterprise.

“Faced with new regulations and heightened scrutiny around data protection, organisational leaders need complete visibility into where their sensitive data resides across the enterprise so they can secure important data in appropriate repositories,” said Victor Limongelli , chief executive officer of AccessData.

“AD RTK leverages our proven enterprise search and investigative forensics capabilities to find and eliminate data that should not exist, or should exist only in defined locations.”

AD RTK is operated from a very simple user interface, which means that technical and non-technical teams alike can act quickly to initiate a first-pass scan, flag potentially problematic data and take immediate action to remediate or destroy the risk.

This enables all teams across an organisation – such as HR, Legal and Compliance -- to take a more pro-active role in helping to protect the company’s sensitive data and reduce the risk of data loss and potential breach. The tool also functions as a more easily deployed and more affordable solution for organisations that lack the IT budget for an expensive data loss prevention software product.

The primary examples of common information risks residing on enterprise IT networks unbeknownst to the organisation’s leadership include improperly retained Personally Identifiable Information (PII), such as credit card numbers, Medicare numbers, classified data (for goverment agencies or suppliers), and unapproved software applications stored on the network. In addition, the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that goes into effect across the European Union in May 2018 identifies strict guidelines for how personal data can be processed, shared and stored by organizations.

AD RTK can run scans of thousands of computer endpoints and network share repositories once at a time or it can be scheduled for recurring jobs to ensure ongoing vigilance.

“AD RTK locates data, assesses compliance risk and gives users the opportunity to delete offending files,” said Limongelli. “It is a powerful tool for fast, pro-active data risk mitigation. If the discovery of a potential risk leads to a determination there is a need to launch a full-scale forensics investigation, users can leverage AD Enterprise , our robust platform for managing large forensic investigations.”

For more information about AD RTK, click here .