Why 73% of Sensitive Data goes unprotected—and how to change that

Sensitive data is at the heart of every modern organization. It drives innovation, fuels strategic decisions and is the cornerstone of trust between you and your customers. But despite its critical importance, a staggering 73% of this vital data remains undiscovered, unclassified and vulnerable, according to a recent research report, The State of Data Loss Prevention - Current Struggles and Future Expectations, of 100 senior cybersecurity and IT leaders, conducted by the Enterprise Strategy Group™ (ESG) and sponsored by MIND™.

The truth is, data security can’t succeed without full visibility into where sensitive data lives, what it contains and the context around it. In today’s fast-paced digital world, the constant growth of unstructured data—projected to double every 2.2 years—makes it even harder to stay on top of what matters. Without clear data classification, your security strategy is left in the dark, facing immense challenges:

• Prioritizing Protections: When you don’t know what data is most critical, your security efforts become scattered, leaving your organization’s most valuable assets exposed.
• Enforcing Data Security and Compliance: Without classification, data protection and compliance becomes guesswork, risking costly penalties and reputational damage.
• Responding to Threats: In the event of a data leak or breach, not understanding what’s at risk leads to slow, ineffective responses, amplifying the damage.

Discovery and classification are the foundation of modern data security. With clarity into your sensitive data, your team can proactively protect what matters most, streamline compliance processes and respond swiftly to emerging threats.

This shift from reactive to proactive security allows organizations to stay ahead of risks and safeguard critical assets. Discovery and classification aren’t just important—they’re the gold standard in data security. In today’s increasingly complex, data-driven landscape, these efforts are no longer a luxury; they’re essential to the long-term success of a comprehensive security and compliance program.

According to the research report, an alarming 73% of unstructured sensitive data remains undiscovered and unclassified. That’s three-quarters of your organization’s most valuable assets left unprotected because the data is unknown.

Why does this happen? Traditional data loss prevention (DLP) tools and systems weren’t designed to tackle today’s rapidly evolving data environments and diverse sensitive data types specific to each organization. These outdated solutions rely on integration with a limited number of data sources, simple and inaccurate data classification schemes, static policies and manual oversight, struggling to keep up with:

• Sprawling cloud infrastructures
• Dynamic hybrid workforces
• Unpredictable data movements
• Rapid unstructured data growth
• Sensitive data beyond just credit card and social security numbers

Instead of providing clarity, these tools leave big gaps in sensitive unstructured data discovery with today’s modern apps and data sources, leading to data slipping through the cracks, unaddressed.

When sensitive data goes unclassified or misclassified, the consequences reach far beyond missed alerts. Security teams feel it the hardest:

• Wasted time: Hours are spent chasing false positives and a flood of trivial alerts, draining teams of focus and energy.
• Increased risk: Real threats remain undetected, and teams live in constant uncertainty about what they’ve missed.
• Compliance checkbox: DLP programs become compliance checkboxes since teams can’t precisely classify sensitive data that matter, such as cloud credentials, secrets, board minutes, M&A agreements, bills of materials and so much more that organizations need to protect.

Many security leaders believe this is the cost of doing business with legacy DLP tools. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Alert fatigue, endless manual oversight and sleepless nights don’t have to be the price of protecting sensitive data.

Unclassified data isn’t just a vulnerability—it’s a source of constant stress, wasted effort and avoidable risk. It’s time to stop accepting the unacceptable.

MIND redefines data security by delivering both Posture (data discovery and classification) and Prevention (data loss prevention and remediation). Unlike traditional tools, MIND:

• Scans your entire data ecosystem—whether in SaaS apps, endpoints, on-premise files shares and emails—in real-time.
• Eliminates noise and false positives, by classifying your sensitive data that matter most (think beyond credit card and social security numbers) with precision.
• Reduces the burden on your security team by automating workflows, using MIND AI to classify with precision and minimizing manual effort.

With MIND, you gain the clarity to see what matters, act on risks and threats faster and ensure that no sensitive file is left unprotected.

This report delves into the DLP challenges facing security leaders today and how modern solutions, like MIND, are helping organizations reimagine their data protection strategy.

Download the report now to explore how MIND’s approach to DLP can transform your data security efforts and drive better outcomes for your organization.