Don’t be Headline News: Protect the PII Under Your Control - CIMCON Software
                     Don’t be 
Headline 
News: Protect 
the PII Under 
Your Control
These mistakes can happen to anyone, & they do.
The root cause in this instance was not criminal hacking, but the inadvertent (and 
temporary) posting of several spreadsheets containing PII to a public part of 
BlackRock’s website. It’s too early to understand all the mechanics involved, but 
it’s apparent that human error played a major role. So, what can be done to 
prevent such incidents in your company?
The short answer is better controls for those applications under end-use
r control (EUC), of which Excel spreadsheets are by far and away the most 
common application type. Spreadsheets are ubiquitous and that familiarity 
breeds complacency. Most people are ambivalent about the risks associated 
with spreadsheets, whether it be the risk of an error in a financial report or 
sensitive data loss. 
Better processes combined with technology-enabled controls can 
provide:
• Systematic capability to identify the presence of hidden sheets that may 
contain PII or PHI
• High speed file share scanning technology to detect unauthorized storage of 
files containing PII on network drives
• Data Classification technology to identify confidential files and create more 
information security awareness at the user level
• EUC Inventory technology to enable closer monitoring of the critical EUCs e.g. 
the files that are known to contain PII and/or are used within a critical business 
process
• Centrally managed controls to enforce password policy and render important 
spreadsheets unreadable if moved outside of the firewall
None of these options is a magic silver bullet and despite the technology, human 
error reigns supreme. Nonetheless, having more effective EUC controls can 
reduce the likelihood of such an incident happening to you and your company.
• Centrally managed controls to enforce password policy and render important 
spreadsheets unreadable if moved outside of the firewall
None of these options is a magic silver bullet and despite the technology, human 
error reigns supreme. Nonetheless, having more effective EUC controls can 
reduce the likelihood of such an incident happening to you and your company.
About Us
Established in 1988, CIMCON Software, LLC is a pioneer in end-user computing 
and model risk management, serving over 800 companies across industries. 
Recognized by Gartner, Insurance ERM, and others as a top risk management 
vendor, CIMCON brings 25+ years of experience and industry best practices to 
support AI & GenAI readiness and governance. With the largest global installed 
base, our feature-rich, extensively tested solutions offer unmatched depth, 
support, and reliability.
Contact Us
Boston (Corporate Office)
+1 (978) 692-9868
234 Littleton Road  Westford, MA 01886, 
USA
New York
+1 (978) 496 7230
394 Broadway New York, NY 10013
THANK 
YOU