An Important Part Of Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Is Protecting Sensitive Data From Loss, Misuse, And Unauthorized Access

 

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) 

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) technologies are those that carry out both content inspection and contextual analysis of data sent through messaging applications like email and instant messaging, in motion over the network, in use on a managed endpoint device, and at rest in on-premises file servers or in cloud applications and cloud storage. These solutions carry out actions in accordance with policies and guidelines established to address the danger of unintentional leaks of sensitive information or their unintended disclosure outside of authorised channels.

Enterprise Data Loss Prevention and Integrated Data Loss Prevention are the two primary categories into which DLP technologies fall. Integrated DLP is restricted to secure web gateways (SWGs), secure email gateways (SEGs), email encryption products, enterprise content management (ECM) platforms, data classification tools, data discovery tools, and cloud access security brokers. In contrast, Enterprise DLP solutions are comprehensive and packaged in agent software for desktops and servers, physical and virtual appliances for monitoring networks and email traffic, or soft appliances for data discovery (CASBs).

It is crucial to appreciate the distinctions between content awareness and contextual analysis in order to fully understand any Data Loss Prevention solution. If the content is a letter, the context is the envelope, which is a helpful way to conceptualise the distinction. Context includes outside elements like the header, size, format, and anything else that doesn't pertain to the letter's content, whereas content awareness entails grabbing the envelope and gazing inside it to assess the content.

Various methods supply various forms of content inspection presently on the market. One thing to keep in mind is that while many Data Loss Prevention suppliers have built their own content engines, some use unsuitable third-party technologies. For instance, a DLP vendor may licence technology from a search engine provider to pattern match credit card numbers instead of developing their own pattern matching technology. To verify the precision of a Data Loss Prevention solution's content engine, pay special attention to the types of patterns that each solution can successfully identify against a real corpus of sensitive data.