Question 1

What is Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Software?

Accepted Answer

Data loss prevention (DLP) software helps companies ensure their sensitive data is not leaked, lost, or stolen. Data loss prevention (DLP) software provides data security by enforcing company policies that determine who can view, change, or share sensitive data. DLP tools secure data by identifying sensitive data, classifying it, monitoring its usage, and then taking actions to stop data misuse by preventing user access and actions, alerting administrators, quarantining suspicious files, encrypting data, or taking other actions to remediate when necessary. 
 Data loss prevention (DLP) software protects data in three states—data in use, data in motion, and data at rest. 
 
Data in use refers to data that is used on an endpoint such as a laptop, mobile device, or tablet. An example would be an employee attempting to copy and paste sensitive data using their laptop.
Data in motion refers to data moving over an internal or external network to a user’s endpoint. DLP software monitors when data is transmitted across networks and via email or other communication methods.
Data at rest refers to data stored in databases, cloud repositories, computers, mobile phones, or other similar devices. DLP software protects data at rest by restricting it’s access to approved users, encrypts it, or deletes it based on the organization’s retention policies.
 
 Data loss prevention (DLP) software protects data using predefined policies to identify, classify, monitor, and protect data to meet business and regulatory compliance. For example, if an employee sends an email to a customer and attaches proprietary company information, the data loss prevention (DLP) software will prevent the email with protected data from being sent. In this example, the DLP software prevented data leakage. Another example would be preventing someone—whether an internal employee or a hacker who breached the company’s traditional perimeter security—from inflicting damage to the company by deleting data. Data protected by DLP software as defined by company policies would be blocked from deletion. In this example, the DLP software prevented data loss. 
 Key Benefits of Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Software 
 
Identify, classify, monitor, and protect sensitive data including personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI), payment card information (PCI), intellectual property (IP), confidential corporate information, sensitive research, and other important data as defined by the company
Prevent data from being leaked, stolen, or lost by both internal and external actors
Alert administrators or remediate incidents
Help companies meet compliance requirements such as privacy, payments, health, or other global data protection regulations

Question 2

Why Use Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Software?

Accepted Answer

Companies use DLP software to protect their sensitive data. Today’s workforce is increasingly mobile. Employees use devices, such as mobile phones and laptops, to access both on-premises and cloud-based company applications. Because of this ability to access company data while not physically in the office, organizations’ data security strategies must evolve. Companies use DLP software to help them employ a data-centric security strategy which secures the data itself, in addition to traditional network-centric security strategies which secure the perimeter, such as a network. This is particularly helpful for companies that allow employees to bring their own device to use for work. 
 In the event of a data breach, companies that have employed DLP software can reduce the expense of recovery, especially if the breached data was not sensitive data or was encrypted, rendering it useless to other parties without the encryption keys. Companies may also be able to reduce their cyber liability insurance premiums by using data security software such as DLP software. 
 To use an analogy on protecting the data itself, imagine a burglar robs a jewelry store by smashing in the front door and then the jewelry cases. What did the burglar take? They likely took gold, silver, and diamond jewelry, among other precious gems. Did they take the jewelry stands or any empty jewelry gift boxes laying around? No, because those have low value. Similarly, not all data is valuable; hackers are typically after sensitive data (gems). Hackers will break through network security (the doors and jewelry cases) to get to sensitive data (jewelry). But what if the data itself was protected and thus hard to steal? In the jewelry robbery example, imagine if the jewelry was bolted down in the cases, had explosive ink tags attached to it, or was locked in an overnight safe instead of left out. What then? The concept of protecting data using DLP software is similar. 
 The main reasons companies use data loss prevention (DLP) software include: 
 Protect sensitive data — Sensitive data is valuable to companies and therefore it is also valuable to bad actors and hackers. Companies protect their sensitive data, such as personally identifiable information (PII) like social security numbers, intellectual property (IP) such as source codes or product development maps, and other sensitive data like financial data or customer data. 
 Enable secure data use on mobile devices — Today’s workforce increasingly brings their down devices to work or works remotely with a variety of endpoints. Companies can take more steps to secure their data by using DLP software. 
 Prevent data leaks — DLP software prevents accidental or willful data leaks caused by employees or insider threats. 
 Prevent data loss — DLP software prevents data loss by preventing users from deleting files they do not have permission to. 
 Detect data breaches — DLP software can alert administrators to suspicious activity and stop data exfiltration attempts or data breaches currently in progress. 
 Understand data usage — Sensitive data is stored in multiple databases, both on-premises and in the cloud, applications, other systems, networks, and on endpoints. DLP software discovers sensitive data, classifies it, and monitors it; this reporting gives organizations visibility into how their data is used. This information can provide key insights on a business’s data strategy. 
 Maintain customer trust — Due to major data breaches becoming so commonplace, end users have become wary about how their data is used and want to know their data is protected by companies who store it. Using DLP tools helps companies protect customer data and ultimately protect their brands while gaining their customers’ trust. 
 Meet business partner compliance — Not only are end users demanding better data protection from providers, but increasingly so are business partners. Many business partners contractually obligate companies to protect sensitive data or pay financial penalties. Many business partners audit the companies they do business with to ensure they have adequate data security to protect sensitive data. 
 Comply with governmental regulations — In some jurisdictions, data protection policies are codified into law. Regulatory bodies enforcing data protection laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) require reports from companies proving compliance with the law. If a company is found non-compliant, they can face steep fines.

Question 3

Who Uses Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Software?

Accepted Answer

All organizations can benefit from using DLP software, however, enterprise-level companies in highly-regulated industries such as health care, finance, manufacturing, energy, and government are the most likely to use DLP software. With the adoption of more privacy regulations codifying data security into law, such as GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA),more mid-level and small companies can benefit from DLP software. 
 Employees within a company that may use DLP software, include: 
 CISOs and InfoSec teams — InfoSecurity teams use DLP software to secure the business and its data. 
 IT teams — Some IT teams may be responsible for administering DLP software. 
 C-suite — C-level executives like CEOs and CMOs use DLP software to protect intellectual property (IP) and protect the value of the brand by securing customers’ personally identifiable information or other sensitive data. 
 Everyday employees — Everyday employees may encounter DLP software if they try to take an action, such as sharing sensitive data, which is not allowed by their company’s policy.

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