What are the standard naming conventions used for Assets?

Because Asset and Target names appear across the Data Assets and Targets console, scan job configurations, match findings, and compliance audit reports, establishing a standardized naming convention ensures consistency, clean filtering, and easy ownership tracking.

In Spirion Sensitive Data Platform (SDP), Data Assets (and their associated scan Targets) in the Data Asset Inventory (DAI) represent the repositories, databases, file systems, and cloud locations where sensitive data lives.

Recommended Naming Architecture for Data Assets

Use a three-part structured convention:

[ASSET-TYPE] - [ENVIRONMENT/GEO] - [SYSTEM/REPOSITORY NAME]

[ASSET-TYPE] (Prefix): Identifies the underlying technology, service, or storage architecture.
[ENVIRONMENT/GEO]: Specifies the environment tier (PROD, STG, DEV) and/or geographic site/region (HQ, US-East, EMEA).
[SYSTEM/REPOSITORY NAME]: The exact database name, file share folder, S3 bucket, SharePoint site collection, or application name.

Category-Specific Standards & Examples

1. Relational & NoSQL Databases (`DB`)

For structured database targets connected via JDBC/ODBC or native database drivers:

Format: DB - [ENGINE] - [ENV] - [DB_NAME/SCHEMA]
Examples:
- DB - SQLServer - PROD - CoreFinancials
- DB - Oracle - PROD - EHR_PatientRecords
- DB - PostgreSQL - DEV - UserAuth_Staging
- DB - MySQL - PROD - ECommerce_Orders

2. Cloud Storage Repositories (`CLOUD` / `S3` / `BLOB`)

For object stores, buckets, and cloud containers:

Format: CLOUD - [PROVIDER] - [ENV/REGION] - [BUCKET/CONTAINER]
Examples:
- CLOUD - AWS-S3 - PROD-us-east-1 - customer-billing-archive
- CLOUD - AzureBlob - PROD-eastus2 - hr-onboarding-documents
- CLOUD - GoogleCloudStorage - PROD - analytics-data-lake

3. Network File Shares & Storage (`FS` / `NAS`)

For SMB/UNC network shares, file servers, and NAS/SAN appliances:

Format: FS - [SITE/LOCATION] - [DEPARTMENT/PURPOSE] - [SHARE_NAME]
Examples:
- FS - HQ-Chicago - Finance - Contracts
- FS - London - Legal - LitigationHold
- FS - NY-Office - HR - EmployeeRecords

4. SaaS Collaboration & Email Platforms (`SAAS` / `M365`)

For Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Box, Dropbox, and developer platforms:

Format: SAAS - [PLATFORM] - [SCOPE/SITE/DEPT]
Examples:
- SAAS - SharePoint - Global - Executive Leadership Portal
- SAAS - OneDrive - DEPT - Sales Team Drives
- SAAS - ExchangeOnline - VIP - Executive Mailboxes
- SAAS - GoogleDrive - Marketing - Creative Assets
- SAAS - Bitbucket - Engineering - Core Repositories

5. Endpoint Fleets (When Grouped as Assets)

For workstation and server pools:

Format: EP - [OS/TYPE] - [SITE] - [TEAM/POOL]
Examples:
- EP - Win11 - HQ - Finance Laptops
- EP - macOS - Remote - Engineering Fleet
- EP - WinServer - DC01 - Utility Discovery Workers

Platform Target Prefix Compatibility

When registering Targets in Spirion Sensitive Data Platform, the platform often defaults to or pairs with type-based target prefixes:

Platform / Target Category	Standard Prefix	Example Asset Target Name
Network File Share	`FS_EP_*` (FS = File Share) (EP = Endpoint)	`FS_EP_HQ_Finance_Shared`
Remote File Share	`RM_EP_*` (RM = Remote) (EP = Endpoint)	`RM_EP_BranchOffice_Archives`
Amazon S3	`Amazon_*`	`Amazon_S3_PROD_CustomerPiiVault`
Azure Blob	`AzureBlob_*`	`AzureBlob_PROD_ClaimDocs`
SharePoint Online	`SharePoint_*`	`SharePoint_Corporate_Legal_Portal`
OneDrive	`OneDrive_*`	`OneDrive_Executive_Leadership`
Google Drive	`GDrive_*`	`GDrive_Enterprise_Marketing`
Gmail	`Gmail_*`	`Gmail_HR_Department_Mailboxes`
Office 365	`Office365_*`	`Office365_Global_Tenant_Mail`
Box / Dropbox	`Box_` / `Dropbox_`	`Box_Global_PartnerShares`

Best Practices for Asset Naming in Sensitive Data Platform

Include Environment Tiers (`PROD`, `STG`, `DEV`):

- Never name an asset simply CustomerDB or FinanceShare.
- If a test or development scan runs against a production database due to ambiguous naming, false-positive risk profiles or production scan throttling can occur.

Align Asset Names with Tags & Playbooks:

- Keep asset names closely aligned with your Tag Management taxonomy
- - For example, Asset FS - HQ - Finance - Contracts is tagged with DEPT - Finance and scanned by Policy COMP-SOX-Quarterly

Avoid Personal User Names for Shared Assets:

- Do not name shares or databases after individual system owners or database administrators (for example, Dave's SQL Server).
- Use business function or system application names instead.

Use Consistent Delimiters:

- Standardize across your organization:
- - Use either hyphens with spaces (TYPE - ENV - NAME) or underscores (TYPE_ENV_NAME).
- Avoid mixing naming styles across departments.