You can’t protect your data unless you know where it is. Most companies struggle with the aspect of enforcing necessary controls around protecting its most sensitive data for the same reason. According to a recent Ponemon institute report, only 17 percent of IT practitioners knew where their structured data resides and only 7 percent knew where unstructured data resides. Understanding where sensitive data resides and applying the necessary controls is key to risk reduction. The process for analyzing data risk includes discovering, identifying, and classifying it, as well as analyzing its risk based on value, location, protection, and proliferation. Once the type and level of risk have been identified, data stewards can take tactical and strategic steps to ensure data is safe