Create Data Rules for accurate Sensitive Data Classification

Last Updated On: 24 Jul 2026|

6 minutes read |

Data rules are essential criteria for identifying sensitive information within datasets. Defining these rules is a critical first step in ensuring comprehensive data security. Data rules provide a foundation for meeting compliance standards like HIPAA, PCI DSS, and GDPR through predefined criteria. Organizations can also create custom data rules tailored to their specific requirements, ensuring compliance and security.

Create Data Rules

Data Rules page in Endpoint DLP showing the option to create new data rules under Data Classification

Data Rules page under Endpoint DLP → Data Classification.

To create a data rule:

Navigate to Endpoint DLP → Data Classification → New Data Rules.
Enter a name for the data rule and optionally provide a description.

Creating Data Rules by Selecting Predefined Criteria

Create data rules by selecting predefined criteria, categorized by Source Code, PII, Health, Finance, PCI DSS, or HIPAA. Toggle between categories or search for specific criteria using the search bar.

Predefined criteria selection page showing categories including Source Code, PII, Health, Finance, PCI DSS, and HIPAA

Predefined criteria page showing available categories for data rule creation.

Alternatively, you can filter the data rule list by clicking the filter icon and selecting a country to display country-specific rules.

Data rule list filtered by country using the filter icon to display country-specific predefined rules

Data rule list filtered by country to display country-specific predefined rules.

Click Save to associate the selected criteria with the data rule.

Creating Data Rules Using Custom Criteria

Apart from standard templates, Endpoint Central allows users to create custom data rules, offering flexibility for tailored data protection. Select the Create Custom Rule option and choose from Regex Patterns, Keyword Matching, Document Matching, and File Extensions.

Custom Rule options available for creating tailored data rules.

Regex Pattern

Regex (Regular Expression) is used for searching text that matches specific patterns. For example, ^\d{3}-\d{2}-\d{4}$ matches a string that represents a Social Security Number (SSN) format: 123-45-6789.

To create a Regex Pattern rule: add a rule name → enter the Regex pattern → enter the number of pattern occurrences to mark the file as sensitive.

Regex Pattern rule creation form.

Note

Occurrences refer to the number of times a pattern must appear in a file for it to be flagged as sensitive. For example, if the occurrence threshold is set to 3, the document will only be marked as sensitive if the specified regex pattern is found at least 3 times.

Keyword Matching

Keyword matching scans documents for exact terms and automatically classifies files containing those predefined keywords as sensitive. For example, if you add "Social Security Number" as a keyword, the system will classify any document containing that exact phrase as sensitive.

To create a Keyword Matching rule: add a rule name → attach a TXT or CSV file containing the list of keywords → enter the number of keyword occurrences to mark the file as sensitive. Choose whether the predefined keywords should be case-sensitive or not.