Websense has released a new tool to aid firms seek out confidential information

Internet security firm Websense has released new Data Discover software to help businesses automatically identify and understand where confidential and sensitive data resides throughout their organisation.

The software is designed to provide businesses of all sizes with an affordable and easy-to-use stand-alone data discovery tool, and is the first step towards data loss prevention, the firm said.

Jonathon Lee, Product Consultant from Websense said, “Our main focus is on data discovery. If data is at rest on a network, any unauthorised person can see it. If it is moved to a controlled network, the data is protected. The software will highlight bad business processes when dealing with confidential data, and focus on controlling any possible data losses.”

According to analysts IDC, the growth of the information protection and control market for data at rest is expected to outpace the growth of the market for data in motion.

Websense Data Discover accurately identifies data no matter where it is located or what form it takes. “Once a document is protected, any form of manipulation can be detected. For example, if someone takes a piece of protected information and saves it to a memory stick, this can be traced,” said Lee.

Richard Wallace, vice president of professional services at Bear Data System, a Websense platinum partner and Websense Data Security Suite solution provider said, “We take pride in providing our customers with industry-leading data protection solutions, so we’re pleased to see Websense continuing to deliver advancements in data loss prevention portfolio.”