- Cloud Protection
- Compliance
- Data Leak Prevention
- Bring your own device
- Copy protection
- Data access control
- Data at rest
- Data in transit
- Data in use
- Data leakage
- Data loss prevention
- Data security
- Data security posture management
- Data security breach
- Data theft
- File security
- Incident response
- Indicators of compromise
- Insider threat
- Ransomware attack
- USB blocker
- BadUSB
- USB drop attack
- Data Risk Assessment
- File Analysis
- File Audit
Redundant obsolete trivial data
What is Redundant obsolete trivial (ROT) data?
Redundant obsolete trivial (ROT) data refers to the digital information that has little or no business value to the organization but is still stored.
- Redundant data refers to duplicate files, i.e., multiple copies of the same file stored in storage repositories. It is accumulated when employees create multiple copies of the same file.
- Obsolete data is outdated information that is no longer used by the organization such as stale and old files. Example: Files owned and used by ex-employees.
- Trivial data refers to files that are insignificant or are not related to the organization such as unofficial emails and employees' personal files like pictures and iTunes playlists.
ROT data has no legal or business value but it can be found on multiple storage repositories like desktops, network servers, SharePoint servers, mobile devices, and in the cloud. The Global Databerg Report shows that about 85% of all content stored in an organization is ROT data.
Why is storing ROT data an issue?
When not managed properly, ROT data can cause the following issues:
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Increase in data storage costs
ROT data takes up a substantial amount of your primary Tier 1 disk space and causes excessive storage and maintenance costs.
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Loss of employee productivity
Storing multiple copies of the same outdated files leads to a cluttered storage space, which is hard to manage, making it difficult for employees to access the right information at the right time.
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Poor business outcomes
Employees might perform analysis on outdated information and base decisions on it, leading to poor business outcomes.
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Data security issues
Data hoarding or excessive accumulation of electronic information increases the cybersecurity risk as businesses are unaware of what data is sensitive. These files do not have updated or relevant security measures in place, making the data vulnerable to breaches and leaks.
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Compliance risks
Compliance regulations mandate that sensitive data should be stored with appropriate levels of security measures in place. The presence of such personally identifiable information (PII) in ROT data will lead to legal ramifications and hefty fines if the storage of this data does not meet compliance requirements.
Managing ROT data with DataSecurity Plus
It is imperative that ROT data be managed to improve storage efficiency and to prevent compliance risks. ManageEngine DataSecurity Plus' file analysis software helps identify and manage ROT data.
Locate ROT data
Perform ROT data analysis to find old, stale, duplicate, and non-business files, and configure policies to delete or quarantine such files using the ROT data analysis tool.
Delete duplicate copies
Identify duplicate files across multiple servers and delete them from DataSecurity Plus' UI using the duplicate file finder and remover.
Examine disk space
Keep yourself informed of ROT data taking up disk space and receive alerts when storage space drops below a critical level using the disk space analyzer.
Try out DataSecurity Plus' file analysis tool to identify and manage ROT data in your environment now.
Download a free, 30-day trial