Data loss prevention (DLP) is a cybersecurity solution that identifies and helps prevent the unsafe or inappropriate exchange, transfer, or use of sensitive data. It can help organizations monitor and protect sensitive information on local systems, cloud-based locations, and terminal devices. DLP is designed to stop accidental data exposure and prevent attacks by third-party attackers or impostors via email. Organizations use DLP software to monitor, detect, and block sensitive data from leaving the corporate network.
This means monitoring both the data entering corporate networks and the data trying to leave the network. DLP products use business rules to classify and protect sensitive and critical information, so that unauthorized users cannot accidentally or maliciously share data, endangering the organization. For example, if an employee tried to forward a business email outside the corporate domain or upload a corporate file to a consumer cloud storage service, such as Dropbox, they would be denied permission. The threat of data breach incidents in which an unauthorized person steals, uses, or consults protected information has increased rapidly as the world has become more digital.
The first step in implementing DLP is for companies to define the sensitive data they want to protect and design a DLP policy. Companies must adopt all possible techniques to prevent data loss, including modifying traditional procedures that are not adequate to protect sensitive business information. It allows companies to keep files for as long as necessary to protect data and compliance requirements, even when an employee has left the organization. The next step is to work with line-of-business managers to understand why this is happening and create controls to reduce data risk.
Intellectual property owners must ensure that their digital assets are protected using appropriate security protocols and defenses, such as firewalls, restricted access privileges, and intrusion detection and prevention systems. Today's data protection solutions should include policy packages that allow companies to simplify the creation of policies for different compliance requirements and regulations on how different types of data should be managed. Once an organization knows when data is moving, training users can reduce the risk of insiders accidentally losing data. It's important for organizations to communicate and develop controls in order to protect their data from malicious actors who access intellectual property and cause serious losses by destroying irreplaceable information or code, copying protected assets and selling or distributing them on the Internet, or exploiting unauthorized access for their own benefit.
Data loss prevention (DLP) ensures that users don't send sensitive or critical information outside the corporate network. It provides companies with everything they need to protect their data and their users and avoid costly data loss incidents.
