When protecting sensitive data, you need a comprehensive plan with a set of tools to deal with both internal and external threats. However, organizations often lack many of the pieces necessary to solve the complete data security puzzle. This results in security gaps, possible compliance problems, and unnecessary challenges in day-to-day operations.
Fortunately, by creating effective data security policies and implementing the best tools to enforce those policies, you can shore up your defenses and create an intelligent security framework.
Common shortcomings in DLP strategies
The costs of data breaches are too high to ignore. With cybercrime damages expected to reach $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, your organization needs to protect your threat surface holistically. Unfortunately, many DLP strategies overlook vital components of a comprehensive security approach.
Overlooking data discovery
Most DLP solutions focus on data in transit while overlooking the importance of protecting data at rest. This is primarily due to the fact that so many solutions lack the ability to adequately uncover data. However, no DLP solution can be considered complete without a competent data discovery tool. A DLP software can only be considered capable if data can be found wherever it lives, including on the cloud, on servers, and on endpoints.
Relying on manual classification
Though finding your organization’s dark data is a critical first step in a complete data loss prevention strategy, proper classification is equally important to ensure effective organization, efficient retrieval, and good data hygiene. Unfortunately, many organizations rely on fully manual classification or insufficient hybrid models that partially automate the classification process. Only by fully automating data discovery and data classification can organizations reap the benefits of DLP solutions.
DLP workarounds and user error
Human error is the leading cause of insider data breaches, with more than 84% of organizations experiencing a security breach caused by an employee on the inside. However, many of these incidents were not the result of malice. Instead, they were the result of errors.
Your team may not be trying to disable your organization’s DLP for nefarious purposes. Instead, they may only be attempting to perform their daily tasks while being hamstrung by inadequate security software. The results are not only inefficient, they’re also ineffective. Your DLP solutions need to be able to properly secure data in a way that allows for proper tagging, thereby granting proper permissions to authorized parties.
The correct approach to a DLP philosophy
A comprehensive DLP philosophy addresses these common deficiencies. Additionally, an effective DLP solution will be able to monitor sensitive data no matter where it exists in the data lifecycle: at rest, in motion, or in use.
Finding data where it lives
Your organizational data is likely counted in terabytes or petabytes and is spread across cloud platforms, employee devices, and more. Much of this data may also be unmarked or unknown. You need to be able to locate your sensitive data, properly label and tag it, and do so consistently while remaining flexible enough to adapt to various factors like changing permissions, new compliance standards, or similar circumstances.
Making sense of data
Data is only useful if it is actionable. Once your data has been uncovered and properly ordered, you can begin to make sense of your full data footprint. With better insights into the information you possess, your organization will not only be in a better position to react as needed to threats, Data Subject Access Requests, and similar scenarios, you will also be able to leverage stored data in new ways in line with operational goals.
Intuitive solutions for effective security
A data loss prevention solution that places unnecessary hardships on employees will result in inefficiency at best. More likely, resourceful employees will find workarounds that circumvent the software altogether and present vulnerabilities. Effective DLP solutions follow a Zero Trust framework and give employees all the clearance they need while blocking access to everything else.
Putting it all together
A comprehensive data loss prevention solution includes the tools like those found in Spirion’s Governance Suite. By understanding the full scope of the sensitive data you possess, you can build proactive security policies that protect your data where it rests while still providing customizability and flexibility based on organizational needs.
See for yourself how a cohesive DLP strategy combines data discovery and data protection. Contact us for more information or watch a demo highlighting the power of a full-featured data protection suite and other integrated solutions.
