Table of contents
As a part of an effort to clean up sensitive data at the University of Maryland, BigID (a data discovery tool) is being used to identify and locate sensitive data (social security numbers, credit card numbers, and passport numbers). Once files are flagged, the SPARCS team will utilize the tool to send notifications for items to remediate to the owners of the flagged files. Outlined below is the process for completing remediation upon receiving an email from the SPARCS team.
Accessing BigID
- Once you receive an email from sparcs@umd.edu, click the link embedded within the email.
- You may respond to this email if you have any questions, and a member from the SPARCS team will reply.
- This link takes you to BigID, where you will authenticate using your UMD credentials and then through DUO.
Report actions for the flagged files
Once authenticated, you will be taken to your remediation dashboard. This is where all items assigned to you will appear, and where you will report your actions for the flagged files. Once you take an action on the flagged items, the SPARCS team will be notified and will either approve and close the flagged item or reject the action and write a comment. Comments will only be made if there is a question about the action taken.
When all assigned objectives have been remediated (marked for deletion, or marked as a false positive), then you are done with the BigID remediation task.
- In the dashboard, you can view object details by clicking on the object name.
- Within the object details, begin by viewing the Attributes tab - this will contain a list of what elements were flagged (SSN, Credit Card Number, Passport Number, etc...).
- Then review the file itself to confirm whether or not those elements exist. For both Google Drive and OneDrive files, there will be a link under Object Path that you can click to take you directly to it. If this is not an option, select the Preview tab. This will show you a plain-text view of the file.
- Return to BigID and select one of the two actions. In the object details, you will find a purple button in the top right corner labeled Actions. This is where you will report the actions taken on the flagged file. There are two options:
- Delete: You will only select this if you no longer want this file in your university space. Once this request has been made, a member from the SPARCS team will review it and approve and execute the deletion, or send a follow-up regarding the request. Once the delete action has been executed by the SPARCS team, it will appear in your Google Drive trash folder.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure that this file has been copied to your UMD Box account. - False positive: You will only select this option if the flagged file does not contain sensitive data. Mistakes happen, and UID’s can sometimes be flagged as an SSN (as well as other incorrect flags for credit card numbers or passport numbers).
NOTE: If you have a false positive, it is important that you leave a note explaining why it is marked as such.
- Delete: You will only select this if you no longer want this file in your university space. Once this request has been made, a member from the SPARCS team will review it and approve and execute the deletion, or send a follow-up regarding the request. Once the delete action has been executed by the SPARCS team, it will appear in your Google Drive trash folder.
Sensitive information storage, file copies, and deletion
If there is sensitive information, it is permitted to be stored in Box and may not remain in the source (Google Drive, OneDrive). If you choose to request that the file be deleted, ensure you save a copy in Box (if you would like) before submitting the deletion request. It is your responsibility to ensure that this file has been copied to your UMD Box account if you choose to keep it.
Expected timeline for completion
This task must be completed within 60 days of receiving the notification from sparcs@umd.edu, and if it is NOT completed within those 60 days, the files will be automatically removed from the source (either Google Drive or OneDrive).