Challenges
Atul Patil, a cybersecurity analyst at Qualys, faces the daily challenge of protecting sensitive data as threats and data volumes grow. The team needed clearer visibility into their data and a way to manage risk without slowing down.
Qualys looked for a data-centric approach that could show where sensitive data lived, how it was accessed, and where risk was real, all without adding more work for the team.
The Problem
Managing user activity and sensitive data exposure was complicated and carried real risk before Cyera.
“Before using Cyera, tracking user activities was quite a complex task. There is a high potential for insider threats to the organization, which are tracked and mitigated using Cyera. Additionally, dealing with plaintext-sensitive data, like credentials and credit card numbers, is a risky task, but it’s managed using Cyera.”
-Atul Patil, Cybersecurity Analyst, Qualys
Limited visibility and manual processes made it difficult to stay ahead of insider threats and sensitive data exposure. Security teams lacked a centralized, updated view of sensitive data, forcing them to rely on time-consuming investigations and fragmented tools to assess risk.
Solution
To close these gaps, Qualys made Cyera’s Data Security Posture Management platform the foundation of its data security program.
Cyera automated the discovery and classification of sensitive data across the Qualys environment. The platform used virtual scanners and AI classifiers to find data like credentials and credit card numbers, without agents. This gave the team a clear, ongoing view of where sensitive data was, how it was accessed, and where exposure mattered most.
“Cyera has been a great partner in managing our sensitive data effectively. Their platform’s AI-powered modules for Data Security Posture Management and Data Loss Prevention have significantly improved our data security measures.”
-Atul Patil, Cybersecurity Analyst, Qualys
With DSPM, Qualys could do more than just keep an inventory. Cyera analyzed access, permissions, and data context to highlight the most important risks, so the team could focus on what mattered most.
Qualys used Cyera’s automation and alerting in daily routines. The team also used DSPM insights to strengthen data loss prevention with Cyera Omni DLP.
“Cyera’s alerts automation feature helped with one-click alert generation and made communication with users an easy task for daily operations. The user interface is quite friendly and provides more insights.”
-Atul Patil, Cybersecurity Analyst, Qualys
By combining high-confidence data classification with context-aware alerting, the security team reduced noise, accelerated response times, and improved productivity without disrupting tools.
Results
With Cyera, the Qualys security team worked faster, improved productivity, and reduced the time and cost to protect sensitive data:
- “We discover and classify sensitive data 10x faster or more.”
- “Our team’s productivity has increased by over 50%.”
- “We have seen more than 50% savings in our data protection efforts since deploying Cyera.”
Cyera’s accurate data classification also supported broader data loss prevention by providing reliable context to downstream DLP tools.
“Cyera DSPM data analysis or classification can be helpful in DLP products to analyze data. Good classification is done by Cyera virtual scanners.”
-Atul Patil, Cybersecurity Analyst, Qualys
By bringing together data discovery, classification, risk prioritization, and alert automation, Qualys built a data-first security approach that reduced exposure and let the business move with more confidence.
Qualys’ experience shows that starting with data visibility and applying protection where it counts can make a real difference for security teams.
Want to see how Cyera can help you discover, classify, and protect sensitive data in your environment?
Book a Cyera demo to see DSPM and Omni DLP in action.
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