{"id":16678,"date":"2023-12-19T12:38:49","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T17:38:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/?p=16678"},"modified":"2024-11-15T12:10:05","modified_gmt":"2024-11-15T17:10:05","slug":"location-matchers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding PII Using Location Matchers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we\u2019ve learned from <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/iri-data-classification\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">this article<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on Data Classification in IRI Workbench (as of DarkShield V5), the types of PII, or classes of sensitive data, you define should be associated with one or more Search Matchers used during data discovery to locate those values accurately. This article covers Location Search Matchers, which find data based on metadata or structure, not content.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Currently, Search Matchers can be divided into two sub-categories: Location Matchers and Data Matchers. Location Matchers apply strictly to structured and semi-structured data and inspect the structure of data. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/data-matchers\/\">Data matchers<\/a>, on the other hand, directly inspect the contents of data to determine if they match the specified search attributes of the data class.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a general rule, Location Matchers have better performance during matching operations and have better accuracy. The caveat is that Location Matchers are not available when working with unstructured data, since Location Matchers rely on a predefined source structure to find PII.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>The Different Types of Location Matchers<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/products\/workbench\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IRI Workbench<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> currently supports six different types of Location Matchers:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Location Pattern Matcher<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">List File Matcher<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Range Matcher (DarkShield Only)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Excel Cell Matcher (DarkShield Only)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">JSON Path Matcher (DarkShield Only)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">XML Path Matcher (DarkShield Only)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6><strong>Location Pattern Matcher<\/strong><\/h6>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-16687\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/location_pattern-300x264.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"446\" height=\"393\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/location_pattern-300x264.png 300w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/location_pattern-1024x902.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/location_pattern-768x677.png 768w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/location_pattern-1536x1353.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/location_pattern.png 1110w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 446px) 100vw, 446px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Location Pattern Matcher uses Java RegEx patterns to perform matches against the names of columns or other named locations in data sources with some structure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, a pattern matching on a column name containing the keyword \u201cphone\u201d will match on the columns <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">business_phone, personal_phone, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> emergency_contact_phone.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This matcher is very useful as long as good naming conventions have been applied when creating tables during table creation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the IRI Library form editor\u2019s Location Matchers wizard page a Location Pattern Matcher will accept only one parameter. A Location Pattern Matcher will need a pattern to match on a column name.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To supply a pattern, simply fill the form field for the field called Pattern. Below is an image with the example of a pattern that will match any column names ending with the word \u201cphone\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-16688\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/location-matcher_phone-300x264.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"459\" height=\"404\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/location-matcher_phone-300x264.png 300w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/location-matcher_phone-1024x902.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/location-matcher_phone-768x676.png 768w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/location-matcher_phone-1536x1352.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/location-matcher_phone.png 1110w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 459px) 100vw, 459px\" \/><\/p>\n<h6><strong>List File Matcher<\/strong><\/h6>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-16690\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/list-file-300x263.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"443\" height=\"389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/list-file-300x263.png 300w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/list-file-1024x898.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/list-file-768x674.png 768w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/list-file.png 1110w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 443px) 100vw, 443px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The List File Matcher allows for matching on multiple columns by utilizing a set file containing a list of column names. So if there is an exact match to any of the provided names, the List File Matcher is flagged. <span id='easy-footnote-1-16678' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/#easy-footnote-bottom-1-16678' title=' The List File Matcher is derived from what was formerly known as the Column Name Matcher. The Column Name Matcher was a means to match on a column based on the name provided. As it was not a method that scaled well with needing to match on multiple column names the List File Matcher was designed.'><sup>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the IRI Library form editor\u2019s Location Matchers wizard page, a List File Matcher accepts only one parameter. The parameter is the path to the set file containing the list of column names.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-16691\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/column-name-300x288.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"236\" height=\"227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/column-name-300x288.png 300w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/column-name-1024x983.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/column-name-768x737.png 768w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/column-name-1536x1475.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/column-name.png 1066w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 236px) 100vw, 236px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example set file containing list of column names.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To select a set file, click the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Browse<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> button and select a file from the file explorer. Set files containing column names are expected to have a single column for the column names with no header.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-16693\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ListOfColumn-300x274.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"454\" height=\"415\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ListOfColumn-300x274.png 300w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ListOfColumn-1024x934.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ListOfColumn-768x701.png 768w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ListOfColumn-1536x1401.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ListOfColumn-2048x1868.png 2048w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ListOfColumn.png 1110w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 454px) 100vw, 454px\" \/><\/p>\n<h6><strong>Range Matcher<\/strong><\/h6>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-16694 aligncenter\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Range-Matcher-300x223.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"456\" height=\"339\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Range-Matcher-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Range-Matcher-1024x762.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Range-Matcher-768x572.png 768w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Range-Matcher-1536x1143.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Range-Matcher.png 1110w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 456px) 100vw, 456px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Range Matcher is a matcher that allows for a range of columns in a CSV or TSV file to be matched based on the positions of those columns in the table. This matcher can be useful if the positional order of the columns in a table holds some sort of significance. Currently, this search matcher is supported only in DarkShield.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the IRI Library form editor\u2019s Location Matchers wizard page, the Range Matcher accepts only one parameter. The Range parameter is for matching on columns based on the range specified.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the form field called Range, three arguments can be provided. The first argument is the filter type. The second argument is the starting index of the range. The third argument is the ending index of the range.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-16695\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/index-of-range-300x234.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"447\" height=\"348\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/index-of-range-300x234.png 300w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/index-of-range.png 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 447px) 100vw, 447px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To better understand how the filter type affects the behavior of the range, consider this example:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are five columns called A, B, C, D, and E. For each column, the index is based on its position or order amongst the other columns; i.e., Column A with an index of 1, Column B with an index of 2, Column C with an index of 3, and so on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The behavior of each filter type selection is as follows, where the starting index i is 2 and the ending index j is 4:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[i, j] returns columns B, C, D<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[i, j) return columns B, C<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(i, j] returns columns C, D<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(i, j) returns C<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">( , j) returns A, B, C<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">( , j] returns A, B, C, D<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[i, ) returns B, C, D, E<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(i, ) returns C, D, E<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">( , ) returns A, B, C, D, E\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-16697\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/index-i-to-j-300x223.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"451\" height=\"335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/index-i-to-j-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/index-i-to-j-1024x762.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/index-i-to-j-768x571.png 768w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/index-i-to-j-1536x1143.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/index-i-to-j.png 1110w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 451px) 100vw, 451px\" \/><\/p>\n<h6><strong>Excel Cell Matcher<\/strong><\/h6>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-16698 aligncenter\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Excel-Cell-Matcher-300x289.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"451\" height=\"434\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Excel-Cell-Matcher-300x289.png 300w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Excel-Cell-Matcher-1024x986.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Excel-Cell-Matcher-768x740.png 768w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Excel-Cell-Matcher-1536x1479.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Excel-Cell-Matcher.png 1063w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 451px) 100vw, 451px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A matcher for cells in Excel (xls\/xlsx) leverages prior knowledge on the structure of the spreadsheets to be searched. As with the previously discussed Location Matchers, this is the best method for finding PII in Excel. Currently, this is a DarkShield-only Search Matcher type.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the IRI Library form editor\u2019s Location Matchers wizard page, the Excel Cell Path Matcher will accept six parameters:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>first <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">parameter is <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Match Row<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This should only be checked if matching on headers in a spreadsheet where the header starts from the left and data follows to the right, rather than the typical layout of headers at the top and data below.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>second <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">parameter is<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Include Matched Cell<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. If checked, the header cell will be included as part of a match. If not, the header cell will be excluded. The default behavior is to exclude the header cells from a match.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>third <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">parameter is the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cell Address Pattern<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This parameter uses a pattern to match on cell addresses within a .xls or .xlsx format spreadsheet. To provide a pattern, either click <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Browse<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to choose from an existing pattern, or click <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to define a new pattern.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>fourth <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">parameter is the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cell Value Pattern<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This parameter uses a pattern to match on the entire content of the cell. This is useful for matching on header cells. All values below the header cell (or to the right of the header cell if the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Match Row<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> parameter is enabled) will be treated as part of the match. To provide a pattern, either click the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Browse<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> button to choose from an existing pattern or click the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">button to define a new pattern.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>fifth <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">parameter is the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sheet Name Pattern<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This parameter uses a pattern to match on the sheet name. As with the above parameters, either click the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Browse <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">button to choose from an existing pattern or click the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> button to define a new pattern.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>sixth <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">parameter called Sheet <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Range<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> matches on columns based on a specified range of indices. The Range parameter has three arguments: the filter type, starting index of the range, and ending index of the range. See the section on Range Matchers above for more information.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-16699 aligncenter\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/sheet-range-300x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"474\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/sheet-range-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/sheet-range.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/sheet-range-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/sheet-range-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/sheet-range-1536x1536.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/sheet-range-70x70.png 70w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><\/p>\n<h6><strong>JSON Path Matcher<\/strong><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The JSON Path Matcher is a Location Matcher for values based on JSON file structure. If the structure of the JSON file or JSON object is known ahead of time, it is faster and more accurate to match on the JSON metadata instead of its data contents. Currently, this is a DarkShield-only Search Matcher type.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the IRI Library form editor\u2019s Location Matchers wizard page, a Json Path Matcher will acceptonly one parameter: the JSON path. The JSON path is used to match on the structure of a JSON object or file. In the field JSON Path, specify the path in correct <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/restfulapi.net\/json-jsonpath\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">JSONPath syntax<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-16703\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/json-name-300x266.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"430\" height=\"381\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/json-name-300x266.png 300w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/json-name-1024x907.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/json-name-768x681.png 768w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/json-name-1536x1361.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/json-name.png 1110w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 430px) 100vw, 430px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Below is an example of what matches would be returned from the sample JSON (top) when utilizing the <\/span><b><i>$..name <\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">JSON path matcher.<\/span> <b>$..name <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">will match on all values of a JSON object that have the key of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">name<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-16704\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/example-json-name-226x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"274\" height=\"364\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/example-json-name-226x300.png 226w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/example-json-name.png 248w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 274px) 100vw, 274px\" \/><\/p>\n<h6><strong>XML Path Matcher<\/strong><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The XML Path Matcher is a type of Location Matcher for matching on values based on the XML structure in which they are found. If the structure of the XML document is known ahead of time, matching on the structure of the XML document instead of its contents will provide far faster ( and likely more accurate) search results than just a data matcher will. Currently, this search matcher type is only supported in DarkShield.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The XML path parameter is used to match on the structure of an XML document. From the IRI Library form editor\u2019s Location Matchers wizard page, the XML Path Matcher will accept only one parameter called the XML path. In the XML Path field, specify the path using valid <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.w3schools.com\/xml\/xpath_syntax.asp\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">XPath syntax<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-16706\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/xml-name-300x265.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"415\" height=\"367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/xml-name-300x265.png 300w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/xml-name-1024x905.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/xml-name-768x679.png 768w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/xml-name-1536x1357.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/xml-name.png 1110w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 415px) 100vw, 415px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Below is an example of the results of using an XML path using \/\/name. This path value will match on all XML elements with a tag name of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">name<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-16707\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/example-xml-path-282x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"341\" height=\"363\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/example-xml-path-282x300.png 282w, https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/example-xml-path.png 311w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 341px) 100vw, 341px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4><b>In Closing<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you are going to be searching or masking structured or semi-structured data and you know where PII may be located based on source metadata, Location Matchers are recommended. Location Matchers are more accurate, require less time to process data than Data Matchers, and are easy to configure. Of course, it is also possible to have a layered approach to search matching by using both Location and Data Matchers for higher accuracy. If you have any questions or need help with these concepts, please email <\/span><a href=\"mailto:info@iri.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">info@iri.com<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As we\u2019ve learned from this article on Data Classification in IRI Workbench (as of DarkShield V5), the types of PII, or classes of sensitive data, you define should be associated with one or more Search Matchers used during data discovery to locate those values accurately. This article covers Location Search Matchers, which find data based<\/p>\n<div><a class=\"btn-filled btn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/\" title=\"Finding PII Using Location Matchers\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":152,"featured_media":16681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1799,280,1796,1718,1462,1772,1459,1715,296,1797,1798,1734,1795,1764,1766,1490,1737,1794,1750,1460],"class_list":["post-16678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-data-protection","tag-csv-data-masking","tag-data-discovery","tag-database-column-pii","tag-finding-pii","tag-finding-pii-in-json","tag-finding-pii-in-xml","tag-json-data-masking","tag-location-matcher","tag-masking","tag-pii-column-masking","tag-pii-column-search","tag-pii-discovery","tag-pii-scans","tag-pii-search","tag-privacy-law-compliance","tag-search-matcher","tag-sensitive-data-discovery","tag-sensitive-data-identification","tag-sensitive-data-protection","tag-xml-data-masking"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.4 (Yoast SEO v23.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Finding PII Using Location Matchers - IRI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Unlock the potential of search matchers in data classification. Learn how to use location matchers for PII in sensitive data discovery jobs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Finding PII Using Location Matchers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Unlock the potential of search matchers in data classification. Learn how to use location matchers for PII in sensitive data discovery jobs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"IRI\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-19T17:38:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-11-15T17:10:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Location-Matchers-Blog-Feature-Image.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"368\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adam Lewis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adam Lewis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Adam Lewis\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/37c0e5beab094bd61cc521902df2876e\"},\"headline\":\"Finding PII Using Location Matchers\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-19T17:38:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-15T17:10:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/\"},\"wordCount\":1564,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Location-Matchers-Blog-Feature-Image.png\",\"keywords\":[\"CSV data masking\",\"data discovery\",\"database column PII\",\"finding pii\",\"finding PII in JSON\",\"finding PII in XML\",\"JSON data masking\",\"location matcher\",\"masking\",\"PII column masking\",\"PII column search\",\"PII discovery\",\"PII scans\",\"PII search\",\"privacy law compliance\",\"search matcher\",\"sensitive data discovery\",\"sensitive data identification\",\"sensitive data protection\",\"XML data masking\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Data Masking\/Protection\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/\",\"name\":\"Finding PII Using Location Matchers - IRI\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Location-Matchers-Blog-Feature-Image.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-19T17:38:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-15T17:10:05+00:00\",\"description\":\"Unlock the potential of search matchers in data classification. Learn how to use location matchers for PII in sensitive data discovery jobs.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Location-Matchers-Blog-Feature-Image.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Location-Matchers-Blog-Feature-Image.png\",\"width\":768,\"height\":368},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Finding PII Using Location Matchers\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"IRI\",\"description\":\"Total Data Management Blog\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"IRI\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/iri-logo-total-data-management-small-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/iri-logo-total-data-management-small-1.png\",\"width\":750,\"height\":206,\"caption\":\"IRI\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/37c0e5beab094bd61cc521902df2876e\",\"name\":\"Adam Lewis\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/087667d0c75d33bb6fab6e734bd89333?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/087667d0c75d33bb6fab6e734bd89333?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Adam Lewis\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/author\/adaml\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Finding PII Using Location Matchers - IRI","description":"Unlock the potential of search matchers in data classification. Learn how to use location matchers for PII in sensitive data discovery jobs.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Finding PII Using Location Matchers","og_description":"Unlock the potential of search matchers in data classification. Learn how to use location matchers for PII in sensitive data discovery jobs.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/","og_site_name":"IRI","article_published_time":"2023-12-19T17:38:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-11-15T17:10:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":368,"url":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Location-Matchers-Blog-Feature-Image.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Adam Lewis","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Adam Lewis","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/"},"author":{"name":"Adam Lewis","@id":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/37c0e5beab094bd61cc521902df2876e"},"headline":"Finding PII Using Location Matchers","datePublished":"2023-12-19T17:38:49+00:00","dateModified":"2024-11-15T17:10:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/"},"wordCount":1564,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Location-Matchers-Blog-Feature-Image.png","keywords":["CSV data masking","data discovery","database column PII","finding pii","finding PII in JSON","finding PII in XML","JSON data masking","location matcher","masking","PII column masking","PII column search","PII discovery","PII scans","PII search","privacy law compliance","search matcher","sensitive data discovery","sensitive data identification","sensitive data protection","XML data masking"],"articleSection":["Data Masking\/Protection"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/","url":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/","name":"Finding PII Using Location Matchers - IRI","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Location-Matchers-Blog-Feature-Image.png","datePublished":"2023-12-19T17:38:49+00:00","dateModified":"2024-11-15T17:10:05+00:00","description":"Unlock the potential of search matchers in data classification. Learn how to use location matchers for PII in sensitive data discovery jobs.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Location-Matchers-Blog-Feature-Image.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Location-Matchers-Blog-Feature-Image.png","width":768,"height":368},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/location-matchers\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Finding PII Using Location Matchers"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/","name":"IRI","description":"Total Data Management Blog","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"IRI","url":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/iri-logo-total-data-management-small-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/iri-logo-total-data-management-small-1.png","width":750,"height":206,"caption":"IRI"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/37c0e5beab094bd61cc521902df2876e","name":"Adam Lewis","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/087667d0c75d33bb6fab6e734bd89333?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/087667d0c75d33bb6fab6e734bd89333?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Adam Lewis"},"url":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/author\/adaml\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Location-Matchers-Blog-Feature-Image.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16678"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/152"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16678"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18110,"href":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16678\/revisions\/18110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}