Why the Apache Log4j utility vulnerability does NOT impact Exonar Reveal

You may be aware of a recent, highly publicised vulnerability in the Apache log4j library. This vulnerability does not affect Exonar Reveal as we don’t use the library in question. But why?

Our team of dedicated engineers chose not to use the Apache Log4j library, as another product suited our needs more closely. Fortunately, the third-party services that we rely upon to drive some of the back-end processes in the Exonar Reveal technology, also happen to have picked a different library framework, so we are protected from this vulnerability on that front too. We always thoroughly review any library we choose to adopt from a security and licensing perspective and we did consider the Apache log4j library when we were selecting which to use, back in the day. At that time there was no indication that this library would have these issues, so those software technologies that are using it and are therefore affected by the vulnerability will have been taken by surprise. Thankfully its business as usual here at Exonar Towers.
So, all of this has got us thinking about what makes Exonar Reveal different to other platforms in the market. Well, let us tell you.

1. Its all about the Index

With years of experience and having been 'born' to discover data, we've perfected the ability to Index the content and detail of every file, at epic scale across Petabytes of data, so everything is instantly searchable in one place. Where other data discovery technologies rely on search capabilities that crawl their way through live data at a snail’s pace, Exonar Reveal creates an Index. Think of it like a reference book. If you want to look something up, you don’t read through every page until you’ve found your source. You simply turn to the Index, look up which page you need and go straight there in moments. Our Index takes a similar approach, which is how Exonar Reveal can return instant search results.

2. Instant search results 

Exonar Reveal provides organisations with an instantly and infinitely searchable Index of its data estate at scale. Exonar connects to all or any of your data sources and that data is ingested in our clever physical or virtual ‘black box’. Documents, emails, text and database rows are found, analysed and enriched. With localized pattern matching and natural language processing, Exonar Reveal accurately identifies personally identifiable information, and sensitive data, understanding the context, topics and similarities in text. The data is then placed in a single, comprehensive Index of billions of data items, enabling visibility of your unstructured and structured data at scale and delivering lightening fast, highly accurate search results.

3. Original data remains untouched

Exonar Reveal reflects what is currently stored in your data estate to ensure full visibility. Yet the original data is untouched. The Index makes a partial copy of the data (metadata and extracted content) but does not keep the original binary file. Think of it as like having a digital twin of your data. The benefits are that the original data can’t be changed or manipulated, creation dates and data owners are never amended and if you are the subject of a ransomware attack where data is encrypted, the Index enables you to find out instantly what was in the affected data so you know how seriously this is going to affect the business.

Want to find out more about how Exonar Reveal will make managing your data easier? We offer a free 2-week ‘Test Drive’ allowing organisations to see how discovering their data in detail will drive the success of their existing data programmes. Find out more here.

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