Data Loss Prevention Helps Keep Sensitive Data Out of the Wrong Hands

IT security systems are designed to prevent malicious outsiders from invading the network. However, these systems generally do little to keep data inside the network. After all, employees, contractors, suppliers, partners and even customers need ready access to data in order to keep the organization running smoothly. Preventing that access would cause operations to grind to a halt.

The loss of sensitive data can be extremely costly, however. Negligent users can create data loss risks by emailing files to their personal accounts or copying them to a thumb drive or consumer-grade cloud storage. These types of risky behaviors have become more prevalent in the age of remote work and mobility.

Malicious insiders can also steal data for corporate espionage or personal gain. A well-established organization is going to be difficult to hack. It’s a lot easier for competitors or opportunities to send in individuals to obtain jobs that allow them to access the data.

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The Role of Data Loss Prevention

These risks point to the need for effective data governance, a framework of policies, processes and technologies that ensure data accessibility, protection and proper use. Data governance recognizes that vital business information is created, accessed and stored outside of applications and databases that are subject to centralized security and control. Organizations must establish policies that define various types of sensitive information, who may access it, and how it may be shared.

These policies are then enforced by data loss prevention (DLP) tools. DLP technology is used to classify sensitive data and identify violations of predefined policies. When a violation is detected, the DLP tool may take various actions, such as alerting the user, IT personnel or managers, forcing encryption of the data, or preventing the user from accidentally or maliciously downloading or sharing the data.

Tool Time

Organizations that subscribe to the Microsoft 365 service have a number of powerful DLP tools at their disposal. For example, they can identify which individuals are authorized to access particular types of data, such as financial documents or R&D, and prevent that data from getting outside the purview of authorized individuals.

There are also third-party tools available for customers that are not on Microsoft 365. However, organizations need the ability to integrate those tools with their email and storage providers to ensure that the data won’t leak from the environment.

One thing to watch out for is whether transforming the style of the document allows users to bypass the DLP tool. For example, some tools do not open .zip files and look at the content — they just let them through.

Another way to intentionally avoid a DLP system is to take a screenshot of the data because most DLP software lacks the ability to analyze images. In current legal case, a microchip engineer has been accused of disguising schematics as image files named after Pokémon characters, and sending the trade secrets to his personal computer. DLP tools must be intelligent enough to look for sensitive data in images and in other formats.

How DeSeMa Can Help

DeSeMa is proficient in several DLP tools. We can establish rules that prevent employees from emailing files to themselves, forcing them to use a more secure method. We can also set up OCR on images leaving the environment to catch and flag individuals who intentionally try to dodge the DLP system.

In addition to protecting sensitive data, DLP improves remote work and mobility. By establishing and enforcing a rule that sensitive files can’t be copied to a thumb drive or emailed outside the company, users can be allowed to take their laptops with them because it’s impossible to take the information off that laptop.

Access to vast amounts of unstructured data is difficult to control, and the wide availability of messaging systems, cloud storage and mass storage devices makes it easy for users to download large volumes of sensitive information. Sensitive data may be stored on mobile devices or sent through unsecure messaging channels. Malicious insiders can intentionally bypass security systems. DeSeMa can address your data leakage challenges with effective tools for keeping sensitive information inside the secure network.