Azure Files Connector

Feature: Azure Files Connector

Getvisibility® is excited to announce the release of automatic file scanning and metadata-writing capabilities for Azure Files, enabled by Getvisibility's Machine Learning (ML) Classification.

Date of Full Release:

25th October 2023

Product: Getvisibility Focus

Components:

• connector-generic 4.17.0

• scan-data-manager 1.0.0

• scan-manager 4.1.0

• dashboard 3.177.0

Summary

This new feature integrates Getvisibility's tailored Machine Learning technology with Azure Files. The connector enhances data management and security, empowering organisations with greater control over their stored files on Azure.

Guide

Credentials & Scanning

A connection string is needed for the storage account you wish to scan. From Azure Portal, navigate to Storage Accounts > Account to be scanned > Access keys as shown below:

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2. Open

   

    

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4. Select to Show the connection string then copy to the clipboard. In the below example the string has been edited out of the image.

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5. To begin scanning, open the Getvisibility Focus UI and navigate to Administration > Connections > Azure Files

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   2. Select New Scan Share. Give the scan a name, enter your connection string, and select your path from the menu.

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      2. Select, and then Save the scan.

   3. Once saved you can begin scanning by selecting the scan icon

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Tagging

Both tagging procedures are initiated by selecting the tagging button in the Azure Files connector UI shown below:

Once selected, users will be presented with two options for Cloud-Only and Persistent tagging. Cloud-Only tags exist only in the cloud storage provider’s UI and are not persisted with a file after downloading. Persistent tagging is written directly to a file’s metadata and remains with the file after downloading from the cloud service.

Cloud-Only Tagging

To add tags to files in Azure users need only begin a cloud-only tagging job. Getvisibility’s Azure Files connector will create the labels according to the customer’s taxonomy. When these attributes are found by the ML they will be written as keys and values to the metadata of files in Azure. By default Getvisibility uses: Compliance, Classification, and Distribution tags where configured.

When a file is tagged using the cloud-only option, tags can be viewed on the files through the Azure interface shown below:

Persistent Tagging

To write metadata directly onto files in Azure, choose a persistent tagging job. The tags are written according to the customer’s taxonomy. By default Getvisibility uses: Compliance, Classification, and Distribution tags.

The file types that are currently supported for ML metadata writing are: docx, pptx, xlsx, xlsm, pdf, png, jpg

When a file is tagged using the persistent option, tags can be read and viewed by numerous third-party solutions, including DLP. The tags also seamlessly integrate with Getvisibility Synergy. An example is shown below:

Third-party Metadata Reader:

Getvisibility Synergy: