PIIs Discovered in Code

Overview

The PIIs Discovered in Code widget provides real-time visibility into Personally Identifiable Information (PII)—such as social security numbers and email addresses that have been accidentally committed to your organization's code repositories. This widget is essential for both IT Operations (IT Ops) and Security Operations (Sec Ops) engineers to detect, respond to, and remediate PII exposures to ensure data privacy compliance and prevent identity theft or data breaches. Note: As of now, the widget detects only two types of PIIs: email addresses and social security numbers (SSNs).

Value for IT and Security Engineers

Security Perspective

• Data Breach Prevention: Alerts teams when PII is found in code, enabling rapid response to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive personal information.

• Identity Protection: Reduces the risk of identity theft and fraud by preventing exposure of personal data such as SSNs, addresses, and financial information.

• Incident Response: Facilitates quick identification and removal of exposed PII, minimizing the window of vulnerability and potential legal liability.

Compliance Perspective

• Regulatory Requirements: Essential for compliance with data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, PCI DSS) that mandate strict control over personal data handling and storage.

• Privacy Policy Enforcement: Supports enforcement of organizational privacy policies and data governance frameworks regarding PII management.

• Audit Readiness: Maintains a comprehensive record of PII exposures and remediation actions, supporting compliance audits and regulatory investigations.

Operational Perspective

• Developer Education: Raises awareness among developers about data privacy risks and the importance of keeping PII out of source code.

• Automated Scanning: Continuously monitors repositories for PII patterns, reducing manual review effort and ensuring comprehensive coverage.

• Centralized Oversight: Provides a unified dashboard for tracking and managing all discovered PII across multiple repositories, teams, and projects.

Use Case Scenarios

• Data Privacy Compliance: Ensure adherence to GDPR, CCPA, and other privacy regulations by preventing PII exposure in code repositories.

• Pre-Production Security: Detect and remove PII before code reaches staging or production environments where it could be more widely accessible.

• Privacy Impact Assessment: Use findings to evaluate and improve data handling practices across development teams.

• Incident Management: Quickly respond to PII exposure incidents by identifying affected repositories and implementing remediation measures.

The PIIs Discovered in Code widget is a critical tool for protecting individual privacy, maintaining regulatory compliance, and fostering responsible data handling practices throughout your software development lifecycle.