NC Protect for File Shares is a data security solution designed to protect unstructured data stored on traditional file share environments. It provides dynamic, real-time data loss prevention for Windows File Shares, NetApp ONTAP, and Nutanix Files. The product uses attribute-based access control (ABAC) to automatically discover, classify, restrict, and encrypt content based on real-time comparison of user context and file attributes. Security policies are enforced at the individual file level rather than the folder level, eliminating the need for complex folder hierarchies and NTFS permission management. Key capabilities include: - Content Discovery: Scans file shares to identify sensitive data subject to regulations such as CCPA, GLBA, COPPA, GDPR, POPIA, HIPAA/PHI, FISMA, PCI DSS, ITAR, EAR, and CUI. Custom rules can be defined for organization-specific policies. - Data Classification: Automatically classifies files via secure metadata upon detection of sensitive content or policy violations. Classification levels (e.g., confidential, private, secret) can be assigned by authorized users. - Access Restriction: Enforces item-level permissions based on classification metadata, limiting access to specific individuals or groups regardless of the broader folder permissions. - Encryption: Encrypts files both at-rest and in-transit. Only credentialed users can access encrypted content, even those with administrator privileges. - Sharing Prevention: Prevents unauthorized distribution of sensitive documents, including blocking emails to recipients without proper access rights, and restricting printing, saving, or copying of Office document contents. - Audit Trails: Tracks and audits the full lifecycle of documents, including access events and user actions, to support forensic investigation and compliance reporting. The solution operates transparently to end users and does not require additional client-side applications.