Using FCI to Find Documents Containing SSNs

Q: How do I create a File Classification Infrastructure (FCI) rule to search documents for a Social Security Number (SSN) and then perform an action?

A: The File Classification Infrastructure (FCI) component of File Server Resource Manager (FSRM) is very useful for searching data for specific patterns, then classifying the data, which could then be used for purposes such as Dynamic Access Control (DAC).

Provided the File Server Resource Manager component of File and Storage Services has been installed, perform the following to create a rule:

1. Launch the File Server Resource Manager tool.
2. Navigate to Classification Management, Classification Rules.
3. Select the Create Classification Rule action.
4. Under the General tab, enter a name for the rule and ensure Enabled is selected.
5. In the Scope tab, select the types of data to classify (check them all) and also add folders to classify via the Add button.
6. Select the Classification tab and for the classification method, accept the default Content Classifier. Select the property to assign to the files and the value to be set if the evaluation is matched, as the screen shot shows.
   
7. Click the Configure button to set the parameters to search for. This can include the minimum and maximum number of occurrences. For SSNs, the expression would be
   

   \d{3}-\d{2}-\d{4}

   
   Click OK.
   
8. Under the Evaluation Type, enable the option to Re-evaluate existing property values if existing classifications may not be correct, then click OK.
9. To trigger the classification to run, click the Run Classification With All Rules Now... action. This can be run interactively, which will show a report of the files matched.