Top DLP (Data Loss Prevention) solutions are a necessity for modern organizations because they protect your company, employees, and clients from a data breach. The best solutions include a robust DLP policy and DLP tools, which can be installed on-premises or in the cloud, depending on your set up.
How Data Loss Occurs
Data loss can occur in various ways at any stage of the data lifecycle. It can be accidental or intentional, caused by human error or malicious intent. For example, data can be lost through hardware failure, malware, or if someone accidentally deletes data from their system. Data can also be stolen by hackers who break into your systems and steal some or all of your sensitive information.
The Cost of Data Loss
The cost of data loss can stretch across multiple spectrums. You may face the cost of:
- The cost of replacing the data itself
- The loss of productivity
- The cost of recovery
- Legal repercussions
For some organizations, the cost of data loss can add up to millions of dollars for a single incident. In addition to financial losses, some organizations that suffer a grave data loss lose their competitive edge to other businesses.
What is Data Loss Prevention?
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is a set of technologies and processes that monitor and safeguard sensitive data. Examples of sensitive data include:
- Source code
- Intellectual Property
- Protected Health Information (PHI)
- Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
What is a DLP Policy?
A DLP policy is a set of rules and regulations that outlines how employees should handle sensitive data. It helps prevent accidental disclosure and helps nullify attack vectors that threat actors can utilize for a data breach.
A good DLP policy may also help identify employees who don’t follow protocol when handling sensitive information or vulnerable systems.
Examples of a DLP policy include:
- Employees must use a password manager.
- Employees must encrypt their data.
- Employees must use multi-factor authentication.
- Personal devices may not access sensitive company resources.
- Work devices cannot access blacklisted URLs.
- The IT department must run penetration tests regularly.
A well-defined DLP policy will mitigate the risk of a data breach and reduce the likelihood of violating regulations such as HIPAA or PCI.
Microsoft 365 Data Loss Prevention
Organizations are shifting to Microsoft 365 to improve their productivity and workflow. They’re also gaining excellent security thanks to the platform.
By migrating to Microsoft 365, they also gain access to a powerful compliance tool that utilizes the strength of a robust framework, technologies, strategies, and processes to build rules and policies that shield confidential data.
DLP in Microsoft 365 offers some essential features, such as admin alerts, pop-up warnings, monitoring, locking, and advanced reports.
The breadth of Microsoft 365 DLP covers:
- Services: Exchange, Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive
- Productivity Apps: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
- Endpoints: Windows 10 and Windows 11
- Third Party: Non-Microsoft cloud apps.
- On-premises: SharePoint and on-premises file shares
A top Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solution can help organizations shield their data from various internal and external threat vectors. It allows companies to keep their data safe from unauthorized access, ransomware attacks and other cyber threats. DLP can also help you comply with laws.
However, DLP can be challenging to enforce without assistance from the right IT service providers. Work with a team that can specify, arrange, install, execute, and provide ongoing support for your DLP tools like Data Loss Prevention in Microsoft 365.
