Discovery Overview

The Discovery process in Gigantics is a critical step that automatically identifies and classifies sensitive data in your databases. This process analyzes your data to detect Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and other sensitive fields, assigning appropriate labels that determine how the data will be handled during anonymization and synthesis.

What is Discovery?

Discovery is the automated process by which Gigantics scans your database schemas and data samples to:

• Identify fields containing sensitive information
• Classify data types with system or custom labels
• Assess the risk level of each field
• Generate reports for compliance and audit purposes

Discovery Process Steps

The discovery process consists of several stages:

1. PII Discovery - Scan and identify potential sensitive data fields
2. Labeling - Assign system or custom labels to identified fields
3. Sensitivity Assessment - Evaluate and adjust risk levels for each field
4. Confirmation - Review and confirm classifications before proceeding

How Discovery Works

During discovery, Gigantics performs deep analysis of your database:

• Examines column names, data types, and sample values
• Uses machine learning models trained to recognize PII patterns
• Compares values against dictionaries of known sensitive data types
• Assigns confidence percentages to each label classification
• Creates visual heatmaps showing risk distribution across your schema

Benefits of Discovery

By using the discovery process, you can:

• Automatically identify sensitive data without manual review
• Ensure compliance with data protection regulations (GDPR, CCPA, etc.)
• Create accurate anonymization and synthesis rules
• Generate audit reports for security assessments
• Fine-tune your data protection strategy

After completing the discovery process, you can move on to Anonymization or Data Synthesis to protect your sensitive data.