Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

Data has become an inextricable part of our lives. As a tech professional, I cannot work without crucial data. With the increasing number of cyber attacks, a data loss prevention system is the need of the hour for every company.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a major change in the working structure of organizations. With the advent of the work-from-home culture, organizations' servers and networks have become more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. 

In this tutorial, I will discuss the concept of data loss prevention and how it can be used to prevent data leakage and preserve critical information.

Understanding Data Loss Prevention 

We all know that this is the most technologically advancing era, and everything is based on data. Today, data theft, misuse of critical information, and breaches of cyber security are common. In more than 12 years of my journey as a techie, preventing and preserving important data have been a critical part of the job. 

Data loss prevention is a security solution generally used by companies to deal with cyber-attacks, security threats, and data loss risks. It allows individuals and companies to identify and mitigate potential risks. Data loss prevention is also known as data leak prevention.

I prefer to implement DLP in the company’s operations to protect overall data security. You can use various software and applications while implementing DLP to restrict any attempt of unauthorized access to your computer system. 

The installation of numerous stages of data loss prevention ensures that confidential information is kept hidden within a network firewall. By evaluating and revising an organization's data retention and disposal guidelines, you can preserve compliance and regulations. Incorporating a DLP program can easily enhance and simplify such functionality.

Types of Data Loss Prevention

There is no hard and fast rule that you should apply only a certain type of data loss prevention in your organization. There are mainly three types of DLP and you can choose any of them. Considering the type of work your company is engaged in, the amount of data you deal with on a daily basis, the degree of confidentiality of information, and so on. 

Let me give you a brief idea of all the three types of DLP so you can choose the one which fits your organization perfectly:

Network DLP

Network DLP generally monitors and manages the transfer of media and files from the company's system to any other device. If anyone tries to steal a company's data and transfer it to another device against the organization's policies, network DLP identifies such activity. Additionally, it detects and evaluates network operations across conventional networks and the Cloud.

Network DLP acts as a logbook that keeps records of who accessed sensitive data at what time. This record also gives information about where it has been transferred. You can implement network DLP if you want to see where the data goes from your computer system. 

Endpoint DLP

When you need a DLP to see and check all the network endpoints that is when you make use of the endpoint DLP. It looks after all the devices, servers, cloud data, mobile phones, etc, and provides information regarding the movement of data files in order to prevent data leakage or data theft. 

When you have a huge data pool and want to classify it as crucial data, regulatory data, business-related data, confidential data, and so on, implement endpoint DLP. It helps execute the classification, which allows you to streamline the process of data segregation.

Cloud DLP

If your organization greatly depends upon cloud repositories to save and maintain its data, cloud DLP is the best choice. Cloud DLP is designed to protect and safeguard companies that use cloud functions. It helps detect and encrypt critical data prior to its admission to cloud storage.

It also tracks cloud applications and individuals who have permission to access such crucial data. As it constantly monitors the cloud repositories, it notifies cyber security professionals of any unusual activity. It also reveals the user identity of who has accessed such data. 

The best thing about cloud DLP is that it provides complete visibility of the entire event. 

Causes of Data Leakage

You may wonder why data leakage has become so frequent. Why is the installation of data loss prevention techniques so important?

So, let me give you a brief idea about the major causes of data leakage: 

• Data exfiltration: When someone attempts to gain illegal access to your computer system with the goal of stealing or moving important data from your device to theirs, it's known as exfiltration. The theft of login credentials and passwords is generally carried out by DDOS or phishing assaults.

• Insider security threats: The realization that security risks originate right inside the company can render these threats extremely hazardous. These are threats that you can face from within the company, such as from some of the employees, contractors, friends, colleagues, or any former employee. They may exploit the company by breaching its security procedures and performing acts of data theft.

• Sheer negligence: When you act negligently, a data breach might become a big deal. If the company does not have a strong security procedure or proper cyber security systems, then data theft and security breaches can be easily perpetrated by scammers and hackers.

Benefits of Data Loss Prevention

When you are looking to install a security system in your company, you will always look for its advantages.

I am listing the major benefits of the data loss prevention approach so that it becomes easier for you to understand how and why you should incorporate it:

• This technique helps accelerate the incident response procedure by locating network abnormalities and speculative user activity.
• It helps classify huge amounts of data according to priorities and safely store it. This, in turn, helps to adhere to the compliance framework.
• It entails various security measures, such as notification of data breaches, alerts regarding cyber attacks, isolating data, encrypting data, etc.
• It creates a higher degree of data visibility across the various networks within the company.
• Helps to curb the financial loss related to data leakage, data theft, ransomware attacks, etc. 
• It helps to uphold the reputation and goodwill of the company by maintaining good data security standards.

Data Loss Prevention Best Practices

To enhance the functionality of the data prevention technique, you can take several measures. These measures can serve as the best practices in DLP:

• First, you need to understand the type of inventory you possess. Then, only you can design applications to protect such data inventory. Hence, always run a thorough inventory assessment.

• You need to classify and segregate data according to its priority, both structured and unstructured. This will help you design specific DLP programs for various data groups.

• You must design specific security and data loss prevention programs for each group of data as per its specific needs and priorities.

• It is best to establish one single DLP solution for the entire unit or business. It is a little challenging, but a centralized DLP program helps you do away with the inconsistencies that organizations may face when they incorporate differentiated DLP plans for each unit or department.

• You may notice that data loss occurs when people lack adequate knowledge of how to protect it. The intention, however, is not malicious; it’s a classic case of lack of awareness. So, try to educate employees about DLP so that they know how it works.

Latest Trends for DLP Adoption

As per the 2022 Garter report, almost 35% of the DLP programs implemented by companies tend to fail due to inconsistent data loss prevention policies. 

Here are a few of the latest trends:

• A 10% rise has been seen in the cost of data breaches, which rose to $4.2 million as per a report by IBM and the Ponemon Institute.

• The need for compliance and regulations has also increased to make DLP safe for data protection and governance.

• Skilled data security professionals are in high demand as they perform the main tasks of managing and looking after the DLP plans.

• With the advent of cloud technology, cloud servers and various third-party applications have become prone to cyber-attacks. These servers and applications are at high risk of being vulnerable.

• A major data security position, the CISO has become prevalent in many companies now. Organizations are increasingly hiring Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) to secure confidential data and protect company-held intellectual property.

Summing Up

In my years of experience, I have known the various benefits that data loss prevention offers. A comprehensive DLP plan helps you gain proper visibility of your company's security system. Also, you get to know how your company's network security performs, whether the data transmission is safe or not, and the identity of the user trying to access confidential data.

Becoming a cyber security professional in the 21st century is a great career option. If you want to learn more about data protection and cyber security, then it is just the right time for you. upGrad offers numerous online courses that can help you advance in your professional life. Head to upGrad and explore the various courses it offers.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are the 3 types of data loss prevention?

Data loss prevention has been broadly categorized under three heads that are network, DLP, endpoint DLP, and Cloud DLP.

2. What is data loss prevention in security?

Data loss prevention is an approach or concept for protecting and securing your company's crucial information against constant security threats. These are applications that you can install in your organization to add an extra layer of data protection that may prevent data theft, security breaches, misuse of information, etc.

3. What is the prevention of data loss?

Data loss prevention is a solution that helps resolve problems of security breaches. Numerous organizations use it to help companies secure their networks and devices against cyber security attacks.

4. What is DLP used for?

DLP in cyber security is used to prevent data theft and secure the misuse of information by companies, insiders, or outsiders.

5. What are the components of DLP?

There are four main components of DLP: management of organizational policies, maintenance of inventory devices and workstations, monitoring network communications, and enforcing data security measures. 

6. What is the difference between DLP and EDR?

The main purpose of EDR is to respond to and counter the potential threats that may damage the security system of the company. On the other hand, the main focus of DLP is to prevent crucial information and data during the time of network transmissions.