Data Protection in the Age of AI: Implementing Copilot Safely

As organizations contemplate the adoption of AI tools like Microsoft Copilot, it is crucial for IT teams and users to establish robust practices that protect sensitive information and maintain compliance, ensuring the security of business data. Data is currently being leveraged in far more ways than it has been in the past and is stored in more diverse locations than it has been historically.

The Need for Governance in Accelerated AI Adoption

With the fast adoption and deployment of generative AI, like Microsoft Copilot, more data will be generated and at a faster rate.?The risks involved in using and launching generative AI applications are not completely known, and we need to ensure that we are securing and governing data, both from an input and output aspect.

Data Classification in Data Security

Organizations need to first understand the data security risks they face – this starts with gaining visibility into what data they have, where it is stored and how their users are interacting with it. Without this knowledge, it is not possible to effectively protect the data. Identifying and classifying sensitive data is essential to prevent unauthorized access and ensure compliance. By implementing effective classification methods, organizations can better manage their sensitive information, mitigating risks associated with data exposure.

Understanding User Behavior

Securing data is becoming harder as the data and its sources continue to multiply, and different types of data need different levels of protection. Applying general policies without knowing what data you have is not an efficient approach, and many decision makers lack full visibility of the location or nature of their sensitive business-critical data.

Data does not move itself; people move data. It is important that organizations understand how data is being used and shared in their organization. Every organization has different kinds of data, different kinds of users, and they have different goals they want to achieve, and the result is that there is no one size fits all strategy that can be developed, data needs to be protected based on it’s criticality to the business.

Preparing for a Safe and Successful Copilot for M365 Deployment with Lightstream

Organizations need to first understand the data security risks they face – this starts with getting visibility into what data they have, where it is stored and how their users are interacting with that data. Without this visibility, it is not possible to effectively protect the data. By taking proactive measures, organizations can mitigate potential risks associated with data exposure and unauthorized access.

As a Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA) member, Lightstream has partnered with Microsoft, developing an assessment that can prepare customers for a successful Copilot for M365 deployment. Our Data Security Assessment provides a summary of an organization’s data protection and compliance posture and recommendations to improve data protection and compliance within your Microsoft M365 Tenant.