Policy Elements Reference

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id: Content_Identifier_Policy_Element_Reference slug: Policy Element Reference title: Policy Element Reference tags: [admin, guide] description: Policy Element Reference sidebar_label: Policy Element

Policy Elements Reference

This reference guide provides detailed information about the building blocks used to create Content Identification policies and rules. Understanding these elements is essential for creating effective custom policies that accurately identify and classify content.

Overview

Content Identification policies are built using XML-based policy elements that define conditions, actions, and evaluation criteria. These elements work together to create sophisticated content matching rules that can identify sensitive data across various formats and contexts.

Core Policy Structure

Policy Hierarchy

Content Identification policies follow a hierarchical structure:

Policy
├── Rules
│   ├── Conditions
│   │   ├── Policy Elements
│   │   └── Evaluation Context
│   └── Actions
└── Resources

Policy Elements

Policy elements are the fundamental building blocks that define what content to match and how to evaluate it. Each element has specific attributes that control its behavior.

Common Element Attributes

All policy elements share these common attributes:

Attribute	Type	Description	Required	Default
id	String	Unique identifier for the element within the policy	Yes	-
elementRef	String	Reference to XML element name in evaluation context	Yes	-

Number Policy Elements

Number elements evaluate numeric values within content or metadata.

Attribute	Type	Description	Required	Constraints	Example
id	String	Unique element identifier	Yes	Must be unique within policy	"Size_Under_100"
elementRef	String	XML element name to evaluate	Yes	Valid XML element name	"DocumentSize"
min	Integer	Minimum value for range	No*	>= 0, <= max if specified	0
max	Integer	Maximum value for range	No*	>= min if specified	100

*At least one of min or max must be specified.

Example:

<Number id="Size_Under_100" elementRef="DocumentSize" max="100" />
<Number id="Size_Over_100" elementRef="DocumentSize" min="100" />

Time Policy Elements

Time elements evaluate temporal data using ISO 8601 format.

Attribute	Type	Description	Required	Format	Example
id	String	Unique element identifier	Yes	-	"Last_Modified"
elementRef	String	XML element name to evaluate	Yes	Valid XML element name	"LastModified"
min	ISO 8601 Time	Minimum time for range	No*	HH:MM:SS+TZ	"14:20:00+02:00"
max	ISO 8601 Time	Maximum time for range	No*	HH:MM:SS+TZ	"15:00:00+02:00"

*At least one of min or max must be specified.

Supported Time Formats:

• HH:MM:SS (24-hour format)
• HH:MM:SS+TZ (with timezone offset)
• HH:MM:SS.sss (with milliseconds)

Example:

<Time elementRef="Last_Modified" min="14:20:00+02:00" max="15:00:00+02:00" />

String Policy Elements

String elements evaluate text content using various matching criteria.

Attribute	Type	Description	Required	Options	Example
id	String	Unique element identifier	Yes	-	"FileName_Pattern"
elementRef	String	XML element name to evaluate	Yes	Valid XML element name	"FileName"
value	String	String value to match	Yes	Any string	"confidential"
caseSensitive	Boolean	Case-sensitive matching	No	true, false	false
matchType	String	Type of string matching	No	exact, contains, regex, wildcard	contains

Match Types:

• exact: Exact string match
• contains: Substring match
• regex: Regular expression pattern
• wildcard: Wildcard pattern (* and ?)

Example:

<String id="FileName_Pattern" elementRef="FileName" value="*confidential*" matchType="wildcard" caseSensitive="false" />

Boolean Policy Elements

Boolean elements evaluate true/false conditions.

Attribute	Type	Description	Required	Values	Example
id	String	Unique element identifier	Yes	-	"IsEncrypted"
elementRef	String	XML element name to evaluate	Yes	Valid XML element name	"Encrypted"
value	Boolean	Boolean value to match	Yes	true, false	true

Example:

<Boolean id="IsEncrypted" elementRef="Encrypted" value="true" />

Evaluation Context

The evaluation context provides the data that policy elements can reference. It contains metadata and content information extracted from the analyzed content.

Common Context Elements

Element Name	Type	Description	Example Value
DocumentSize	Number	File size in bytes	1048576
FileName	String	Name of the file	"report.docx"
FileExtension	String	File extension	".docx"
LastModified	Time	Last modification time	"14:45:03.520+02:00"
Created	Time	Creation time	"09:30:15.000+02:00"
Encrypted	Boolean	Whether content is encrypted	false
ContentType	String	MIME type of content	"application/pdf"

Content-Specific Elements

Different content types provide additional context elements:

Document Files:

• PageCount (Number)
• WordCount (Number)
• Author (String)
• Title (String)

Image Files:

• Width (Number)
• Height (Number)
• ColorDepth (Number)
• Format (String)

Email Messages:

• Subject (String)
• Sender (String)
• Recipients (String)
• AttachmentCount (Number)

Rule Conditions

Conditions combine policy elements using logical operators to create complex matching criteria.

Logical Operators

Operator	Description	Example
AND	All conditions must be true	<AND><Element1/><Element2/></AND>
OR	At least one condition must be true	<OR><Element1/><Element2/></OR>
NOT	Condition must be false	<NOT><Element1/></NOT>

Condition Structure

<Condition>
  <AND>
    <Number id="LargeFile" elementRef="DocumentSize" min="1000000" />
    <String id="SensitiveContent" elementRef="FileName" value="confidential" matchType="contains" />
  </AND>
</Condition>

Identifying Elements in Results

When multiple conditions can match the same policy element, you can use the id attribute to identify which specific condition matched in the results.

Best Practices

Element Design

1. Use Descriptive IDs: Choose meaningful identifiers that clearly describe the element's purpose

   <!-- Good -->
   <Number id="LargeDocument_Over10MB" elementRef="DocumentSize" min="10485760" />
   
   <!-- Avoid -->
   <Number id="num1" elementRef="DocumentSize" min="10485760" />

2. Optimize Range Conditions: Use appropriate min/max values to avoid unnecessary processing

   <!-- Efficient for file size checks -->
   <Number id="ReasonableFileSize" elementRef="DocumentSize" min="1024" max="104857600" />

3. Case-Insensitive String Matching: Use case-insensitive matching for better coverage

   <String id="SensitiveKeyword" elementRef="Content" value="confidential" caseSensitive="false" />

Performance Considerations

1. Limit Complex Regex: Use simple patterns when possible to improve performance
2. Order Conditions: Place most selective conditions first in AND operations
3. Use Appropriate Match Types: Choose the most efficient match type for your use case

Error Handling

1. Validate Element References: Ensure elementRef values correspond to available context elements
2. Check Range Constraints: Verify that min/max values are logically consistent
3. Test Time Formats: Validate ISO 8601 time format compliance