By Scott Doerr, vCISO, Fortified Health Security
LinkedIn: Scott Doerr, CISSP
LinkedIn: Fortified Health Security
Unstructured data may not make headlines like ransomware or phishing, but it’s one of the fastest-growing and most overlooked risks in healthcare. Files, folders, and collaboration platforms — from SharePoint to Teams to cloud storage — are where sensitive information is created, copied, and shared daily. This sprawl creates risk not just for security teams, but for the entire enterprise.
For healthcare leaders, the question is no longer whether unstructured data introduces risk; it’s how to manage it in a way that reduces costs, streamlines operations, and protects patients. That’s where Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) delivers measurable value.
Why Unstructured Data Demands Leadership Attention
Traditional security investments focus on networks, endpoints, and applications. Yet the data layer itself remains exposed:
- Lack of visibility — few leaders can confidently say where all sensitive PHI or PII resides.
- Overexposure — “open to everyone” permissions create unnecessary liability and easy attacker entry points.
- Weak monitoring — insider misuse, ransomware encryption, or compliance violations often go undetected until it’s too late.
When uncontrolled access involves PHI, it’s not only a compliance issue. It’s a patient trust and business resilience issue — one with direct financial consequences.
DSPM as a Strategic Business Investment
Data-centric DSPM tools close this gap by focusing directly on the data itself. They provide:
- Discovery & Classification — automatically identifying PHI, PII, and financial data wherever it resides.
- Risk Reduction via Access Control — eliminating overexposure, enforcing least-privilege, and reducing audit scope.
- Monitoring & Detection — spotting anomalies, insider threats, and ransomware activity in real time.
- Audit-Ready Reporting — producing regulatory-aligned reports that simplify HIPAA, HITRUST, and GDPR compliance.
This isn’t just a win for IT. DSPM delivers enterprise-level value by reducing risk exposure, strengthening compliance posture, and streamlining security operations.
The ROI Case for DSPM
While DSPM solutions often carry a premium price tag, their business value is quantifiable:
- Millions saved by reducing the probability and impact of breaches. With the average healthcare breach costing $9.77M (2024), even a modest reduction in likelihood translates into substantial savings.
- Operational efficiency at scale. Automating folder permission cleanup can remediate thousands of exposures per day, compared to manual fixes.
- Reduced compliance burden. Audit-ready reporting and automated provisioning workflows lower regulatory costs and free up staff time.
- Faster incident response. DSPM provides the visibility needed to investigate issues quickly and minimize downtime.
Independent analyses across various industries show that DSPM pays for itself many times over — not just in avoided costs, but also in accelerated remediation and long-term risk reduction.
A Leadership Imperative
For boards, CISOs, CIOs, and CFOs, protecting unstructured data is no longer a tactical IT problem. It’s a strategic imperative. DSPM helps healthcare organizations:
- Safeguard patient trust by preventing inappropriate access to PHI.
- Reduce regulatory and legal exposure through stronger audit readiness.
- Enable sustainable growth by aligning cybersecurity with operational efficiency.
Conclusion
Unstructured data is one of the most vulnerable and least governed aspects of the healthcare environment — and attackers are aware of this. DSPM closes this gap by transforming a hidden liability into a managed and measurable business asset.
For healthcare leaders, the choice is clear: invest in DSPM not just as a security control, but as a driver of ROI, compliance, and resilience.