What are Data Loss Prevention Services?

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) services are technologies that help organizations protect sensitive information from being maliciously or inadvertently lost, leaked or destroyed. 

DLP services combine software tools and best practices to apply security policies to data as it moves throughout an IT environment. By monitoring user activity and data movement, Data Loss Prevention services can prevent the loss or exposure of sensitive information like customer data, intellectual property, trade secrets, personal health information (PHI), credit card numbers, financial records, login credentials and more.

Data Loss Prevention tools have become increasingly important to security teams with the rise of highly distributed IT environments, hybrid workforces and BYOD trends that create many more opportunities for data to be leaked or lost. Strict regulatory requirements concerning data privacy and security have raised the stakes for DLP efforts. By identifying an organization’s most sensitive data assets and monitoring their movement and usage, Data Loss Prevention services can help organizations avoid regulatory penalties, legal consequences, damage to reputation and loss of customer trust.

Data Loss Prevention services combine various tools and best practices to monitor, detect and block various threats or actions that could result in lost or leaked data.

Data may be lost or leaked in several ways. Unintentional leaks occur when employees accidentally forward an email with sensitive content to someone outside the network or when they attach a sensitive document without encrypting it. Data can also be physically lost when USB flash drives are misplaced or laptops are stolen. Malicious leaks include insider threats from employees who intentionally send sensitive information outside the network or hackers who gain unauthorized access to a network to exfiltrate high-value data assets.

Data Loss Prevention services perform several vital tasks to prevent these incidents. First, DLP services identify sensitive data within a digital environment based on its criticality to the business and the damage a leak or loss would cause. 

Once sensitive data has been categorized, Data Loss Prevention security policies can be established that govern how these sensitive assets may be used, accessed, stored and by whom. Data Loss Prevention solutions then monitor and track data use and movement to detect suspicious attempts to access, alter or send it outside the organization. 

When a potential loss or leak occurs, DLP services may block a user’s actions, automatically enforce encryption standards, flag the incident for review by security teams, or remediate it in other ways.
 

Data Loss Prevention services are designed to protect data in multiple ways.

• Data in use. As users and applications interact with sensitive data, DLP services authenticate users and enforce access controls to prevent unauthorized use or access.
• Data in motion. As confidential assets move across a network, Data Loss Prevention services ensure that information is not routed to insecure areas or destinations outside the organization. Email security and encryption technologies are essential in protecting data in transit.
• Data at rest. DLP services protect the information in the cloud and on-premises data storage by enforcing encryption, access control and data retention policies.

Data Loss Prevention services fall into four major categories.

• Network DLP solutions monitor all incoming and outgoing data from any device connected to the network, enforcing security policies and acting on suspicious or unauthorized attempts to use or access data.
• Cloud DLP technologies monitor and audit data in cloud applications and storage, enforcing access control policies, blocking cyberattacks and providing IT teams with end-to-end visibility for data stored in the cloud.
• Email DLP services monitor and filter email traffic for potential data leaks, phishing scams and attacks based on social engineering methods.
• Endpoint DLP solutions monitor and control access to physical devices to prevent sensitive information on these endpoints from being lost, leaked or destroyed.
   

Security teams may implement several best practices when deploying Data Loss Prevention services.

• Perform a comprehensive inventory. Many organizations lack a complete picture of sensitive data assets and their risks. A thorough list and assessment is the first step in identifying and categorizing business-critical information and determining how it should be protected.
• Classify sensitive data assets. A classification framework makes it easier to apply granular security policies that protect sensitive data without slowing down users.
• Establish data usage and remediation policies. Security teams can then create guidelines for how each data type can be used, accessed, stored and retained – and who can perform these actions. 
• Deploy centralized data protection services. While some organizations implement a variety of solutions from various Data Loss Prevention vendors, this practice inevitably leads to more work for IT teams while potentially creating security gaps that put data at risk. Choosing a unified solution can also reduce Data Loss Prevention software costs. 
• Implement security awareness training. The best way to prevent data loss and leaks due to human error is by educating employees about the many threats to data security and the DLP policies and best practices designed to mitigate them.

Recognized as a leader in cybersecurity by Gartner, Forrester and NSS Labs, Forcepoint offers Data Loss Prevention services as part of Forcepoint ONE, a unified platform for securing data across web, cloud, and private applications. Offering best-in-class Data Loss Prevention services, Forcepoint ONE DLP prevents data exfiltration on the broadest range of devices in real-time across all channels from a cloud-native DLP platform.

With Forcepoint Data Loss Prevention services, security teams can:

• Simplify management with over 190 predefined, out-of-the-box policies for data protection regulations worldwide.
• Centralize data security policy management in a DLP SaaS platform.
• Create policies once and apply them across cloud, web, and private applications.
• Protect a broad range of devices with agentless protection through reverse proxy, delivering secure access from any device.
• Scale easily with a cloud-native DLP built on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform, scanning large volumes of data at rest while enjoying 99.99% uptime – with no scheduled downtime.
• Apply custom data patterns to millions of files, defining a policy once while leveraging AI/ML for exact data classification.

Forcepoint Data Loss Prevention offerings include Risk-Adaptive Protection and Data Loss Prevention for email platforms like Microsoft Outlook and Google G Suite.