How to get started on your data governance journey and support your cyber and information security programs. Presented at the AISA Cyber Conference Canberra March 2021

1. Getting started
with Data
Governance

2. Agenda
 Why organisations need data governance
 Steps to get started with data governance
 Dealing with objections
 Some handy resources
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3. Why organisations
need data governance
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4. 2021
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Complexity is a defining
feature of the digital era,
& we are not adjusting our
governance structures to
Kent Aiken, Prime Minister’s Fellow,
Public Policy Forum Canada, 2017

5. To protect our
data, we need
to understand
it.
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https://www.accenture.com/us-en/blogs/blogs-new-data-ethics-guidelines-organizations-
digital-trust

7. Why data governance is important
 Working out what data assets to protect
 Allocating scarce cyber dollars
 Ensuring that data is used properly
 Complying with increasing regulatory requirements
 Improving data security via information security and cyber security
 Creating and enforcing data distribution policies
 Creating the basis for effective data & analytics operations
 Identifying your crown jewels for protection
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8. Steps to get started with data
governance
1. Build mental maps for people - most people can’t imagine what data
governance means or how to enact it
2. Pick a definition & stick with it
3. Establish a mandate
4. Develop a data governance framework
5. Develop policies &, procedures including governance structures
6. Establish a steering committee
7. Define what success looks like
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9. Steps to get started with data
governance
8. Roles & responsibilities
 Recruit data governance roles
 Decide the size of your core Data Governance team
9. Develop a data governance strategy
10. Implementation
 Run it as a project
 Communications plan
 Benefits realisation plan
11. Pick something that is finite and useful to start
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10. Pick a definition & stick with it
"Data governance is the organization and
implementation of policies, procedures, structure,
roles, and responsibilities which outline and enforce
rules of engagement, decision rights, and
accountabilities for the effective management of
information assets."
 (John Ladley, Data Governance: How to Design, Deploy and Sustain an
Effective Data Governance Program, 2012)
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11. Data governance framework
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https://www.imperva.com/learn/data-security/data-governance/

12. Example DG
framework
Give people an idea of the overall data
governance program
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13. Develop policies, procedures
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14. Define what success looks like
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Top down support
Clear definition
Ongoing funding
Dedicated resources
Focused strategy & plan

15. Develop a data
governance
strategy
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https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/data-governance-and-data-management-74952/

16. Dealing with
objections
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How Data
Gov helps
with defence
in depth
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Identify data at risk
Locate sensitive data
Ensure that sensitive data is stored and managed
properly
Identify sensitive data users
Ensure consistent data access processes
Ensure safer access to sensitive data

19. Identify data at risk
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Who in the organisation is using sensitive data
Location of data and how the data flows through the enterprise
Organisational data stewardship ensures business ownership of the
process
Data access management can assist with identification of who has
access to which data
Can assist in mitigating the risk of information security incidents

20. Remember:
Data governance is a journey,
not a destination
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Kate Carruthers | UNSW 2021 20

21. Some handy
resources
https://www.datagovernance.unsw.e
du.au/
https://data.uq.edu.au/
https://web.stanford.edu/dept/pres
-provost/cgi-bin/dg/wordpress/
Bryan Petzold, Matthias Roggendorf,
and Christoph Sporleder. 2020.
‘Designing Data Governance That
Delivers Value’. McKinsey, June 26.
https://www.mckinsey.com/business
-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-
insights/designing-data-governance-
that-delivers-value#
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22. Thank you
k.carruthers@unsw.edu.au
@kcarruthers
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