Tool Overview:
Spirion

About Spirion

Spirion is a data protection and privacy solution provider founded in 2006, headquartered in Tampa, Florida. The company's flagship product, the Sensitive Data Platform (SDP), focuses on discovering, classifying, and protecting sensitive data across enterprise environments. The platform employs automated discovery techniques to identify structured and unstructured data, combined with classification and risk remediation capabilities.

What does Spirion do?

The Sensitive Data Platform performs three core functions: data discovery, classification, and remediation. The platform's discovery capabilities extend across on-premise, cloud, and hybrid environments, with support for various data repositories including Snowflake, Salesforce, and Apache Hadoop systems. The classification system applies metadata tags to sensitive data and maintains persistent updates as files change. Spirion's remediation features include automated workflows that can implement protection strategies such as shredding, redacting, and encrypting sensitive information.

In terms of classification capabilities, Spirion's system categorizes data across multiple dimensions including process context, purpose of collection, customer preferences, and regulatory requirements. This multi-faceted classification approach helps organizations understand not just where sensitive data resides, but how it is being used within business processes. The platform includes User Level Remediation (ULR) functionality that allows data owners and stewards to manage sensitive information while maintaining administrative oversight.

The platform incorporates analytics and visualization features through Spirion Enhanced Analytics (SEA), which provides security leaders visibility into sensitive data risks through a data warehouse environment. The system generates actionable reports for tracking progress and monitoring enterprise-wide data protection efforts. An Executive Dashboard offers high-level views of sensitive data status, remediation timelines, and at-risk assets.

What makes Spirion different?

A distinguishing aspect of Spirion's approach is its focus on contextual discovery and classification. Rather than simply identifying sensitive data, the platform examines the business context of how information is being used, which informs automated protection decisions. The system supports differential privacy techniques through integration with synthetic data providers, allowing organizations to maintain data utility while protecting individual privacy.

For compliance purposes, Spirion provides automated Subject Rights Request workflows to handle Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs) from intake through fulfillment. The platform supports various privacy regulations including CCPA, CPRA, and GDPR. Integration capabilities extend to Microsoft Information Protection environments and ServiceNow IT Service Management systems, enabling organizations to incorporate privacy management into existing operational workflows.

Use cases and industries

Spirion serves organizations that need to protect sensitive data and maintain regulatory compliance across sectors. The platform addresses several key use cases including data security, privacy management, compliance monitoring, and data loss prevention. Recent additions to the platform include image redaction capabilities for handling sensitive information in images, PDFs, and videos through integration with Private AI technology.

The solution particularly targets enterprises dealing with complex regulatory requirements and distributed data environments. User Level Remediation features allow organizations to delegate sensitive data management responsibilities while maintaining centralized control through role-based access and automated workflows. The platform's Data Asset Inventory functionality helps organizations catalog and track sensitive data assets across their IT environment, supporting data mapping, residency tracking, and breach investigation requirements.