Your Asset Register is a Liability,
Not an Asset.
Why manual spreadsheets fail NCSC CAF Objective A—and how to automate your evidence at Petabyte scale.
The Compliance Illusion
You have likely spent months preparing for your GovAssure or NIS2 audit. You have updated your policies, interviewed your asset owners, and compiled a Master Asset Register that ticks every box for NCSC CAF Objective A.3 (Asset Management).
On paper, you are compliant. On paper, you know where every dataset resides.
But the auditor doesn't audit paper. They audit reality.
The "Golden Thread" is Broken
Here is the uncomfortable truth: Your asset register was obsolete the moment you clicked 'Save'.
In the time it took to compile your spreadsheet, your users created 50,000 new files. They moved PII into a public share. They encrypted a folder you didn't authorise.
"The NCSC describes Asset Management as the 'Golden Thread' of cyber resilience. If you are relying on static snapshots to manage dynamic, petabyte-scale environments, that thread is already broken."
You aren't managing risk.
You are just documenting your blind spots.
The Cost of "Dark Data"
Legacy Systems
Identified by the NAO as "critical risk" because departments lacked visibility of vulnerabilities.
Failure Rate
In pilot audits, organisations consistently failed Objective A.3 when independent auditors replaced self-assessment.
Records "Stuck"
Tax records found on legacy infrastructure at HMRC—a direct failure of Objective D.1 (Response & Recovery) caused by poor data classification.
If you cannot index your legacy data in real-time, you are statistically likely to fail your next CAF assessment.
From Snapshot to "Movie"
To pass a rigorous CAF audit, you must stop treating Asset Management as an administrative exercise and start treating it as an operational capability.
You don't need a better spreadsheet. You need a live evidence engine.
Lightning IQ to CAF Mapping
Lightning IQ is the only discovery platform built for the Petabyte age. We don't just help you pass the audit; we automate the evidence required to maintain it.
Asset Management
The Challenge
Incomplete, static inventories.
The Lightning Fix
We index 1 Petabyte per hour. We provide a living, breathing asset register that updates daily, ensuring your "Golden Thread" never breaks.
Data Security
The Challenge
Sensitive data hidden in "Dark Data" pockets.
The Lightning Fix
Our Content Analytics engine reads inside files to flag PII, NI Numbers, and 'Confidential' markers located in public shares. Unknown Risk becomes Managed Remediation.
Response & Recovery
The Challenge
Backups bloated with junk, slowing down RTO.
The Lightning Fix
We typically identify 40-60% ROT (Redundant, Obsolete, Trivial) data. By automating its removal, we shrink your attack surface and accelerate recovery.
"Lightning IQ allowed us to classify 9PB of archive data that had been untouched for a decade, satisfying our GDPR and audit obligations in weeks, not years."
— Public Sector CTO
Take Control: The 48-Hour Challenge
Stop guessing your compliance posture. Let us measure it. Give us read-only access to 50TB of your "messiest" unstructured data.
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