What Is Data Loss Prevention (DLP)? Understanding the Basics and Tools

Keeping sensitive data safe is critical for all companies, large and small. With the increase of cyber threats and tightening regulations, companies struggle to find appropriate measures to protect sensitive data. Data Loss Prevention (DLP) tools are designed specifically to help with that. How does DLP tool help protect data? 

  What Is Data Loss Prevention? 

As the name suggests, Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is a combination of different strategies and tools which focus on unauthorized data access and data leakage. Whether text, media, or numbers, all organizations accumlate data which remain useful only if they are secured. Organizations such Data Loss Prevention solutions ensure only the parties who need information are able to access it. 

DLP solutions ensure data stays safeguarded by identifying, managing, and preventing  the sensitive information in the organizations information and communication systems from being lost or released to unauthorized users. DLP tools are able to monitor data in use (files being modified), in motion (emails or uploads), and at rest (information stored on servers or devices). 

 DLP tools features and prevention capabilities are crucial for effective data management

1. Identity and Access Control. 

Protect sensitive data by controlling who use the data and the actions they can perform or access to opened. Restrict any unauthorized users to the selected information to minimize the leakage or loss of sensitive information by enforcing strict policies to position sensitive data. Users with proper permissions, including the customer or the data owner, are able to access or modify only up to the specified limits. 

2. Data Encryption.

 In simplest terms, the scrambling of data before transcription or communication. While the actual data might still be sore but turned into a scrambled mess. It can only be returned to its original form by the users with enabling keys or permissions. Only a few are able to hold the keys to access such hidden data making the data secured with no proper access given to the unauthorized users. As such, it ensures all sensitive files or infomation are turned into unseen data until they are decrypted. 

3. Automated Video Auditing and Tracking.

 Evaluate sensitive data being accessed and misused by specific users with systems which enable capturing and storing access events, the videos of sensitive files being accessed and misused as sought with specific users will all be stored and can later be looked up and assessed. Cases of unauthorized access to critical files can be assessed, monitored, and can regarded as a breach of relevant sensitive files

4. Blocking Social Media Access. Almost the entire workforce will remain distracted by the multiple social media platforms that frequently light up with notifications almost daily with varied features present throughout social media. Protect sensitive and crucial data of the organizations data by disabling access to all social media platforms. Such a change will protect the companies information in the issued journalism policies. 

 What Are the Data Loss Prevention Tools? 

DLP tools also tend to monitor sensitive data that is being transferred (leaked) unauthorizedly. They also protect from the critical systems to external hosts and the sensitive information not being accessed by presenting controls for the users and the role given, policies can be accessed and engaged with to detect all violations.

1. Web Monitoring: Consider the method of scanning the web page remotely for classification based upon a specified criteria. Such monitoring is very useful in controlling the private information enables looking up the required files quite easily.

2. Data Leakage Tracking: Data gathering techniques aim at identifying the relevant files, analyzing leaked files, and identifying the appropriate party responsible for the misplaced files. 

3. Technical Tracking Data Leak Prevention: Sensitive data being transferred all tend to loop on everything critical to an organization. Almost every vital piece of information can be followed by encryption strategies and monitoring devices. 

4. Content Protection Tools Tracking: The systems enable monitoring people, gathering files can lose track of what the individuals access by controlled enabling pushing restrictions. 

5. User Privilege Auditing: Enabling each covered role to perform only the permitted actions. This will help sensitive and critical data remain untouched from misnavigated by restrictions to accessing information they are not permitted to open will be safeguarded.

 Conclusion

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is an emerging technology and organizations should begin thinking of implementing the same to protect the sensitive data. There are also many companies in the market seeking to provide DLP tools.

The aims of DLP are to:  

 Prevent and mitigate possible data leaks.

 Follow compliance guidelines of GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA.

 Protect intellectual property.

 Manage insider threats.

 What are the use cases of DLP

A DLP tool acts as a gatekeeper for an organization’s data. Policies, inspections, and organizational data contextual evaluation are combined to either permit and block flows of data. For example, DLP solutions block transfer of sensitive data and notify the security department. If an employee  tries to send an email with an attached file which is a spreadsheet containing the customer Social Security numbers , the DLP solution automatically denies the action and puts alerts to the security department.  

Some key features of DLP tools include:  

 Content Discovery: Scans data bases and file system to locate sensitive data which is at rest.

 Policy Enforcement: Governed actions are permitted or denied to a controlled data, user role, and action corresponding to rules.

 Data Classification: Procedures are applied to the data tagged with sensitivity.

 Real-Time Monitoring: Surveillance of data at rest, endpoints, and in other databases.

 User Behavior Analytics (UBA): Risks or abnormal event are flagged as DLP.

 Categories of DLP Tools  

DLP solutions are widely classified based on their area of operation:  

1. Endpoint DLP: safeguards data on laptops, desktops, and mobile devices. Helps in monitoring USB data transfer, takings of screenshots, and files.

2. Network DLP: Monitors data in motion within your network, email, or file transfer to avert data loss.

3. Cloud DLP: works in a cloud space. It helps secure data housed in cloud applications such as Google workspace, Office365, and Salesforce as well as data in transit between them.

Some DLP solutions are more advanced and offer all three on a single dashboard for holistic monitoring and management.

 Why You Should Adopt a DLP Tool  

Using a DLP tool can have many advantages for organizational tool management such as:  

 Compliance Assurance: For organizational data, DLP tools provide functionalities to aid in protection compliance, thus avoiding huge organizational fines.

 Insider Threat Detection: Keeps track of employees working for the company and outside contractors who are likely to mismanage classified information.

 Reduced Risk of Data Leak: Uses proactive measures and automated system response to avert classified information from leaking.

 Enhanced Organizational Surveillance: Helps track the distribution within the organization and access pathways for organizational data.

 Policy Automation: Timesaving benefits come from automating the applying of rules and handling exceptions based on the data.

 Difficulty and Factors To Consider

Even though DLP Tools are very useful, they come with their own set of disadvantages. The tools can be marked to very strict policy implementations making the workplace less efficient. There are also issues with false alarm notifications and “Sensitive data” which require collaboration from multiple departments such as IT, Legal, and HR to properly define the compliant actions.

Focus on DLP systems that allow policy customization, deep reporting features, have applicable integration with preexisting structures and supports sensitive data definitions.

 Finding An Effective DLP Tools

Look at the DLP activities and see if they have the following features.

 Flexibility: Is it fixed at a certain capacity? Is it adjustable based on the organization’s growth?

 Compatibility: Is it a standalone device, or can it easily be integrated with other appliances in the protective systems of the organization? 

 User Friendly: Does the graphic user interface enhance or detract from its operability?

 Assistance and Education: Can a customer get reliable guidance from the contractor, or the seller?

Other DLP Tools providers benefitting from the market are Trellix, Microsoft Purview, Digital Guardian, Forcepoint, and Symantec Broadcom.

 Conclusion 

In today’s world, where a single data breach can cost millions and wreak havoc on a company’s reputation, Data Loss Prevention is no longer optional, and a well-implemented DLP tool serves as a function of a well-rounded cybersecurity plan. Such a tool safeguards not only confidential data but also the organization’s future. 

In case you would like to understand what DLP is, or what a DLP tool is, or if you would like to purchase a tool to safeguard your data, rest assured, taking the right steps now can save you from expensive blunders in the future.