Eliminate DLP Blind Spots: Why Forcepoint Beats Netskope

Data is the lifeblood of modern enterprises, but it is also one of their greatest sources of risk. Protecting intellectual property, personal information and regulated records requires Data Loss Prevention (DLP) software that is both comprehensive and precise.  

Netskope promotes its DLP as part of a cloud-first security offering, but the capabilities fall short of what large organizations need. With limited endpoint coverage, few pre-built templates and gaps in local enforcement, it delivers what can best be described as “DLP lite.”

Forcepoint, by contrast, provides enterprise-grade DLP through the Forcepoint Data Security Cloud platform – delivering consistent protection across email, endpoint, web and cloud from a single policy framework. It additionally extends protection with Risk-Adaptive Protection (RAP), adjusting security dynamically based on user behavior and risk context.

How Forcepoint Closes Netskope’s Coverage Gaps

Netskope’s DLP is designed mainly for cloud environments. It provides some visibility into web and email activity, but with major blind spots. For example, unmanaged devices, including Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), are not protected, and the Netskope Client on managed endpoints is limited and covers only specific use cases. On-premises enforcement requires third-party integrations.

Forcepoint DLP eliminates those gaps. It delivers full functionality across email, endpoint, web, SaaS apps and GenAI tools all through a unified policy. Employees working on corporate laptops, personal devices or in the cloud enjoy consistent protection. A healthcare provider, for instance, can enforce HIPAA policies whether staff are emailing patient data, printing records or uploading files to cloud storage. Netskope simply cannot match that level of channel coverage.  

In addition, Forcepoint DLP enables forensic investigations, showing who moved what data, where it went and how it was used. This supports compliance audits, legal reviews and continuous policy improvement.

Why Forcepoint wins:

• Protects data across GenAI tools, email, endpoint, web and SaaS apps under one unified policy
• Extends coverage to unmanaged and BYOD devices where Netskope has no protection
• Offers Risk-Adaptive Protection to adjust enforcement dynamically when user behavior indicates higher risk
• Provides granular control over local actions such as printing and USB usage (not just blocking)
• Enforces policies consistently without needing third-party integrations for on-premises systems

Why Policy Depth Matters in DLP

Policy depth matters when protecting sensitive information. Forcepoint offers more than 1,800 pre-defined classifiers and policy templates, spanning global privacy laws, financial data types, healthcare standards and intellectual property patterns. These are ready to deploy immediately and can be tuned to organizational needs.  

A bank can apply global payment card rules, while a manufacturer can detect CAD files leaving the network – without starting from scratch. Forcepoint also leverages its AI Mesh technology, trained on these 1,800+ classifiers, to improve classification accuracy, reduce false positives and provide better quality signals for precise enforcement.

Why Forcepoint wins:

• More than 1,800 built-in classifiers and templates, covering global privacy, financial, healthcare and IP rules
• Immediate deployment readiness, reducing time and effort for security teams
• Highly tunable to fit enterprise-specific requirements without starting from scratch
• Supports specialized use cases like CAD file detection, HIPAA enforcement and PCI compliance

Which Platform Offers Broader App Visibility?

Cloud app adoption continues to accelerate, and security teams need visibility into which apps are in use and how data flows through them. Netskope indexes roughly 80,000 SaaS and IaaS services. While respectable, it pales in comparison to Forcepoint’s coverage of more than 800,000 cloud apps by default.

Forcepoint DLP integrates with the Forcepoint Data Security Cloud platform to extend this visibility, allowing policies to follow data across nearly any cloud service in use. With comprehensive app intelligence, IT teams can discover shadow IT risks, enforce policies across sanctioned and unsanctioned apps, set granular controls and maintain compliance across the entire environment.  

Netskope’s narrower catalog limits how much organizations can actually see and secure. Forcepoint’s broader app catalog is validated and continuously updated to ensure accurate coverage as the SaaS landscape evolves.

Why Reverse Proxy Capabilities Are Essential

Reverse proxy support is essential for applying DLP and security policies to modern web apps. Netskope’s support here is limited, working with only a subset of applications.

Forcepoint provides full reverse proxy capabilities for any web application. This flexibility is critical for enterprises that rely on a wide mix of SaaS tools and custom web apps. A retailer adopting new e-commerce platforms can apply the same DLP rules consistently, instead of hoping the application is on Netskope’s supported list.

How Forcepoint Simplifies Identity and Policy Enforcement

Identity sprawl is another growing concern. Netskope supports only one Single Sign-On (SSO) provider, such as Okta or Entra ID, which restricts flexibility in enterprises with multiple identity systems.

Forcepoint supports multiple SSO providers simultaneously and even offers a native identity provider for simpler deployments. More importantly, Forcepoint unifies policies across all these identity contexts, ensuring that data protection rules follow users seamlessly as they access apps, switch devices or move between networks.

One Platform for Consistent Data Protection Everywhere

Many vendors now offer integrated security platforms, but depth matters as much as breadth. Netskope’s DLP features are centered on cloud activity and provide only basic endpoint and on-premises coverage. Forcepoint Data Security Cloud unifies enterprise-grade DLP with visibility and enforcement across every channel where sensitive data travels.

This means a financial services firm can apply one consistent policy to protect account data whether employees are emailing clients, uploading files to cloud storage or transferring information to a local device. With Forcepoint, policies follow the data everywhere, ensuring comprehensive protection without the blind spots that come with a cloud-only approach.

Why Forcepoint Is the Trusted Leader in DLP

Forcepoint has been recognized by top analysts for leadership in enterprise DLP and innovation in data security. With decades of experience across highly regulated industries, Forcepoint solutions are proven to reduce risk at scale. The company continues to innovate with technologies such as AI Mesh and Risk-Adaptive Protection, ensuring customers gain both depth of coverage and adaptive enforcement.

Netskope, while prominent in the cloud security space, does not offer the maturity, breadth or integration depth that enterprises demand. Its DLP capabilities are limited, requiring organizations to make compromises in coverage and control.

Protect Your Data Everywhere with Forcepoint

DLP is no longer about one channel or one deployment model – it is about ensuring sensitive information is protected consistently wherever it moves. Netskope’s cloud-first DLP offers only partial coverage, leaving organizations to manage around blind spots.

Forcepoint Data Security Cloud delivers enterprise-grade DLP with visibility and enforcement across GenAI tools, email, web, cloud and endpoints, all managed through a single policy engine. By unifying protection under one platform, Forcepoint gives organizations the depth, scale, and flexibility they need to safeguard data in today’s hybrid environments. Forcepoint also takes a full data lifecycle approach, protecting both structured and unstructured data while it is in use, in motion and at rest.

For broader data protection needs, Forcepoint also offers:

• Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) with AI Mesh for advanced classification, offering comprehensive visibility and control over data-at-rest
• Data Detection and Response (DDR) for proactive insider risk and threat management

For a closer look at how Forcepoint products can help your organization move into the future with sensitive data protected, talk to an expert and request a free trial.