Data loss prevention (DLP) is a set of tools and processes used to ensure that sensitive data is not lost, misused, or accessed by unauthorized users. DLP software classifies regulated, confidential and business critical data and identifies violations of policies defined by organizations or within a predefined policy pack, typically driven by regulatory compliance such as HIPAA, PCI-DSS, or GDPR. Once those violations are identified, DLP enforces remediation with alerts, encryption, and other protective actions to prevent end users from accidentally or maliciously sharing data that could put the organization at risk. Data loss prevention software and tools monitor and control endpoint activities, filter data streams on corporate networks, and monitor data in the cloud to protect data at rest, in motion, and in use. DLP also provides reporting to meet compliance and auditing requirements and identify areas of weakness and anomalies for forensics and incident response.
DO COMPANIES NEED DATA LOSS PREVENTION?
3 MAIN USES CASES FOR DLP
Data loss prevention solves three main objectives that are common pain points for many organizations: personal information protection / compliance, intellectual property (IP) protection, and data visibility.
Personal Information Protection / Compliance:
Does your organization collect and store Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI), or payment card information (PCI)? If so, you are more than likely subject to compliance regulations, such as HIPAA (for PHI) and GDPR (for personal data of EU residents), that require you to protect your customers’ sensitive data. DLP can identify, classify, and tag sensitive data and monitor activities and events surrounding that data. In addition, reporting capabilities provide the details needed for compliance audits.
IP Protection:
Does your organization have important intellectual property and trade or state secrets that could put your organization’s financial health and brand image at risk if lost or stolen? DLP solutions With policies and controls in place, you can protect against unwanted exfiltration of this data.
Data Visibility:
Is your organization seeking to gain additional visibility into data movement? A comprehensive enterprise DLP solution can help you see and track your data on endpoints, networks, and the cloud. This will provide you with visibility into how individual users within your organization interact with data.
While these are the three main use cases, DLP can remediate a variety of other pain points including insider threats, Office 365 data security, user and entity behavior analysis, and advanced threats.