Skip to main content

Privacera Platform

Dictionaries

:

Dictionaries are lists of values used to identify data elements. Privacera Discovery matches dictionaries against your resources and data and can be applied to either content or metanames.

Example dictionaries include:

  • A dictionary of US person names used to identify names in a database.

  • A dictionary of common column name patterns used to identify a column of account IDs.

Dictionaries support multiple include/exclude patterns. This helps enable a longer transition from conventional patterns for pattern matching. For example, the 'email' conventional pattern and its associated structured and unstructured rules can be disabled and the same pattern value can be added as part of a new dictionary lookup. The resulting rules can then be configured just as conventional patterns.

Types of dictionaries

There are three types of dictionaries in Privacera Discovery:

  • Exact match: the value of the data must exactly match the value in the dictionary.

  • Fuzzy match: the matching is based on fuzzy logic instead of exact match.

  • Pattern match: the values in the dictionary are regular expressions.

Dictionary Keys

The key is used by Discovery rules to associate a tag with a resource element. Because a dictionary can be applied to either content or metaname, a naming convention is used for the key:

  • Content dictionary: LOOKUP suffix.

  • Metaname dictionary: KEYWORD suffix.

Manage dictionaries

Privacera Discovery comes pre-loaded with a set of useful dictionaries. You can also create your own custom dictionaries and configure rules to use them.

The values in a dictionary can come from a text file that can be uploaded through the portal or directly copied into your installation. For smaller dictionaries, you can add values using the Privacera portal either one by one or with the bulk input interface. For dictionaries that are file-based, you can add additional values or exclude existing values using the Privacera portal.

When a dictionary is created or modified, the updated dictionary becomes available for use within a few minutes.

Add a dictionary

To add a dictionary, follow these steps:

  1. On the Dictionaries page, click the + sign.

    The Add Dictionary dialog is displayed

  2. Enter the following details:

    • The Name of the dictionary (required)

    • The Description of the dictionary.

    • The Key field is not editable because it is populated by the system. You have the option to add IPv4 and IPv6 address regexes as an option under Key description for regexes and used to lookup dictionary content.

    • The required File name.

  3. Select the required Type: Exact, Pattern, or Fuzzy match.

    Note

    For pattern dictionaries, see Pattern Validation.

  4. Select Apply For. The choices are content or metaname. If you select metaname, for pattern type dictionaries, you have the choice to apply the input tags directly to the resource. See Add Meta Tags Directly to Dictionary.

  5. Select the Status (enabled by default).

  6. Click Save.

    The dictionary is added.

Add meta tags directly to a dictionary

When you create a new dictionary of type pattern, you can apply meta tags directly to a data source. The option appears after you select the combination of pattern and metaname.

Upload a dictionary

To upload a dictionary, follow these steps:

  1. In the Dictionaries page, click Upload Dictionary.

    The Upload Dictionary dialog is displayed.

  2. Select the .txt file of the dictionary you want to upload.

  3. Click Save.

    The dictionary file is uploaded.

Edit a dictionary

To edit a dictionary, follow these steps:

  1. In the Dictionaries page, select a dictionary from the dictionary list and click Edit.

    The Edit Dictionary Info dialog is displayed.

  2. Update the required fields.

  3. Click Save.

    The dictionary is updated.

Copy a dictionary

To make a copy of a dictionary, follow these steps:

  1. On the Dictionary page, select a dictionary from the dictionary list and click Create Copy.

  2. The Copy Dictionary Info dialog is displayed with selected Type and Apply For** values.

  3. Enter the following details:

    • Enter the Name dictionary (required).

    • Enter the Description of dictionary.

    • Enter the File name (required).

    • Select the Type (required).

    • Select the Apply For (required).

    • Select the Status (enabled by default)

  4. Click Save.

    A copy of the dictionary is created.

Enable or disable a dictionary

To enable or disable a dictionary, follow these steps:

  1. On the Dictionaries page, select a dictionary from the Dictionary list

  2. Click the Status toggle to enable or disable the dictionary.

Search for a dictionary

To search for a dictionary, navigate to the Dictionaries page and enter the dictionary name into the search bar.

Dictionary tour

To see an explanation of the different components of a dictionary, click Tour on the Dictionaries page.

Include a Dictionary

You can filter the list of included dictionaries using the search included dictionary option. This tab also displays the current count of records relying on the dictionary.

The Include Dictionary tab displays the following:

  • Name: Name of the dictionary.

  • Description: The lookup/keyword description.

  • Actions: Edit or delete dictionaries.

  • Bulk Edit/Delete: Select this to edit or delete the dictionary values in bulk. After selecting, click x to delete the values.

Add keywords to an included dictionary

To add a keyword or lookup under Include Dictionary, follow these steps:

  1. On the Dictionaries page, select a dictionary from the dictionary list.

  2. In the Include Dictionary tab, click ADD.

    The Add Dictionary dialog is displayed.

  3. Enter the name of the keyword or lookup, one name per line.

  4. Add a Description for the dictionary name.

  5. Click Save.

    The keyword or lookup is added to the selected dictionary in the Include Dictionary tab.

Exclude a dictionary

You can filter the list of excluded dictionaries using the search excluded dictionary option. This tab also displays the total record count.

The Exclude Dictionary tab displays the following information:

  • Name: Indicates name of the dictionary.

  • Actions: Allows you to edit and delete the dictionary.

To add a lookup in the Exclude Dictionary tab, follow these steps:

  1. On the Dictionaries page, select a dictionary from the Dictionary list.

  2. Select the Exclude Dictionary tab and click +Add.

    The Add Dictionary dialog displays.

  3. In the Name field, enter the names of the dictionaries, one name per line.

  4. In the Description field, enter a description for the dictionary.

  5. Click Save.

    The lookup is added to the selected dictionary.

Import a dictionary

To import a dictionary in JSON format, follow these steps:

  1. On the Discovery page, click Import.

    The Import dialog is displayed.

  2. Select the JSON file of the dictionary you want to import and click Save.

    The dictionary configuration file is imported.

Export a dictionary

To export a dictionary in JSON format, follow these steps:

  1. On the Dictionaries page, click Export .

  2. Check the checkbox of the required dictionary and click Export.

    Note

    You can select multiple dictionaries.

    The dictionary file is exported.

Test dictionaries
Pattern validation

If the dictionary is of type pattern, you can validate its regexes.

To validate a pattern, follow these steps:

  1. In the Dictionaries page, add a new dictionary of type 'Patterns'.

    The Add Dictionary field for the pattern type is displayed.

  2. Enter a complex Expression (regex).

  3. Enter the Description for the expression.

  4. Enter the Input Test Data.

  5. Click Test Expression.

The message "Passed" or "Failed" appears in the Test Output field.

Test against a data source

To test changes to a dictionary, follow these steps:

  1. Perform an offline scan of the data source that has sensitive fields you want to test.

  2. Check the Scan Status.

  3. After the scan is completed, open the resource to verify if the scan classified the tags correctly.

The tags are classified under Data Inventory > Classification.

List of Privacera-supplied dictionaries

The following is a list of the Privacera-supplied dictionaries. The name of a dictionary in general describes the purpose of the dictionary. For precise details, look at the dictionary itself in the Platform UI.

  • AU_BSB_LOOKUP

  • BINARY_MIME_KEYWORD

  • CC_KEYWORD

  • CC_PROTECTED_KEYWORDDisabled

  • CITY_KEYWORD

  • COUNTY_KEYWORD

  • CRIMINAL_RECORD_LOOKUP

  • DISALLOW_DOB_KEYWORDDisabled

  • DISALLOW_NAME_KEYWORDDisabled

  • DISALLOW_ZIP_KEYWORDDisabled

  • DOB_KEYWORD

  • ETHNICITY_LOOKUP

  • EXEC_MIME_KEYWORD

  • GEO_KEYWORD

  • GPS_KEYWORD

  • IMAGE_MIME_KEYWORD

  • ISO3166_CC_LOOKUP

  • MEDICAL_RECORD_LOOKUP

  • ORG_LOOKUP

  • PASSPORT_KEYWORD

  • PASSWORD_KEYWORD

  • PERSON_NAME_KEYWORD

  • PERSON_NAME_LOOKUP

  • PII_ID_KEYWORD

  • SSN_KEYWORD

  • STATE_KEYWORD

  • SWIFT_BIC_KEYWORDDisabled

  • SWIFT_BIC_LOOKUPDisabled

  • TAX_ID_KEYWORD

  • UK_ELECTORAL_ROLL_KEYWORDDisabled

  • UK_NHS_KEYWORDDisabled

  • UK_NINO_KEYWORDDisabled

  • UK_POSTAL_TOWN_LOOKUPDisabled

  • US_ABA_NUMBER_KEYWORDDisabled

  • US_ADDRESS_KEYWORD

  • US_CITY_KEYWORD

  • US_CITY_LOOKUP

  • US_COUNTY_KEYWORDDisabled

  • US_COUNTY_LOOKUPDisabled

  • US_DLICENSE_KEYWORD

  • US_DLICENSE_LOOKUP

  • US_STATE_KEYWORD

  • US_STATE_LOOKUP

  • US_ZIP_KEYWORD

  • US_ZIP_LOOKUP