Spirion (formerly Identity Finder) is a scanning tool that searches for confidential information such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, and passwords that may be stored on your computer, file shares, or removable drives. Spirion helps prevent data security breaches and identity theft by locating sensitive personal information and providing options for removing or protecting it. Clark has licensed Spirion to help faculty and staff protect this kind of data.
If your computer is managed by ITS, the Spirion has been installed automatically. You can find it in your installed programs list or you may have a desktop icon that looks like this:
If you can’t find Spirion or need assistance finding it, please contact the ITS Help Desk.
Frequently Asked Questions
Am I required to have Spirion installed on my Clark computer?
Yes. Similar to the University’s deployment of antivirus software, this tool is required to help protect Clark’s protected and confidential data.
Where can I learn more about how to use Spirion?
For more information and documentation on Spirion, click the links below
Can ITS clean up my data for me?
Although ITS may install the software and can provide assistance with the cleanup process, you must ultimately decide what data to securely delete or retain given your needs. Additionally, the software may find sensitive information such as passwords and personal financial account numbers that you should keep private, even from ITS staff.
How often should I run a Spirion scan?
You should run a Spirion scan at least semi-annually; monthly if you work with protected data occasionally and weekly if you work with protected data on a regular basis. If a data loss incident occurs, you and/or your department may be responsible for running Spirion immediately.
What do I do if Spirion finds confidential information on my device?
After completing a scan, you will be presented with a window containing a list of all files found that could contain the defined confidential information. Not all of these files will have sensitive information, some will contain data that was falsely identified (a false positive).
The easiest way to determine if a file truly contains confidential information is to click on the file name and view the contents in the Preview Pane (on the right side of the window). This will show you a preview of the file, with the suspected match highlighted. By viewing the file, you should be able to determine if the result is truly a defined confidential data type that needs to be addressed, or if it is a false positive.
If you determine the file contains any of the following confidential information (passwords, social security numbers, credit card numbers, and financial account numbers), please contact your department head/chair to confirm that you need to store the information and then the ITS Help Desk to discuss moving the files to an ITS secured server.
ITS Help Desk
1-508-793-7745
Academic Commons, Plaza Level
- Monday – Friday: 8 am – 12 am
- Friday: 8 am – 5 pm
- Saturday: 12 pm – 5 pm
- Sunday: 12 pm – 12 am