What is Data Loss Prevention (DLP)? Definition, Importance and Examples

Data loss prevention (DLP) is a program that combines technologies, strategies and processes to prevent data loss and unauthorized access. Learn more.

In today’s data-driven world, where information is valuable currency, the protection of sensitive data has become a critical concern for individuals and organizations alike. However, with the ever-increasing volume of data generated and shared, and businesses migrating their workloads to cloud environments, the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access has surged significantly, highlighting the importance of robust data loss prevention (DLP) strategies.

Read on to discover what DLP is, how it works, its importance and how Spanning Backup can help strengthen your organization’s data loss prevention strategies.

What is data loss prevention (DLP)?

Data loss prevention, also known as data leak prevention, is a comprehensive strategy and set of tools designed to identify, monitor and protect sensitive information to prevent unauthorized access, leakage or misuse. It includes a range of technologies and methodologies aimed at safeguarding data from accidental or intentional exposure while actively in use, during transmission and while at rest.

Why is data loss prevention important?

In today’s unpredictable business landscape, where data breaches and cyberthreats loom large, the significance of DLP cannot be overstated. According to IT Governance’s recent research, there were 470 publicly disclosed security incidents in November 2023, resulting in 519,111,354 records being compromised. However, external threats are not the only cause for concern for companies. The Verizon 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report revealed that about 75% of all breaches include the human element either through error, privilege misuse, use of stolen credentials or social engineering.

Here are a few compelling reasons why DLP is a must-have for every business.

• Protects sensitive data: LP solutions play a pivotal role in preventing unauthorized access to valuable data. They help identify and protect sensitive data, including intellectual property (IP) such as patents, proprietary designs, source code and trade secrets. DLP systems utilize a combination of tools, strategies and policies to fortify your organization’s security perimeter, preventing inadvertent leaks or intentional breaches. This includes securing data in use, in motion and at rest, thereby ensuring comprehensive protection across all stages of data handling.
• Helps comply with regulations: In industries governed by stringent regulations like healthcare, finance or government sectors, maintaining data integrity and confidentiality is critical. DLP solutions help meet regulatory requirements by implementing controls such as encryption, access restrictions and data monitoring.
• Protects company reputation: Data breaches not only result in financial losses but also tarnish your organization’s credibility. Data loss prevention helps protect your company’s reputation and preserve customer trust. Implementing robust DLP measures shows your commitment to safeguarding your customers’ sensitive information, fostering trust among customers and stakeholders.
• Enhanced data visibility: DLP solutions provide comprehensive visibility into your organization’s data landscape. By monitoring data in real-time, DLP identifies where sensitive IP resides, how it’s being utilized and who has access to it. This visibility enables businesses like yours to gain insights into data usage patterns, potential vulnerabilities and areas requiring additional protection.

Data loss due to vulnerability exploitation, social engineering or human error poses a significant threat to organizations worldwide. Below are a few examples that illustrate the diverse ways through which an organization’s sensitive information can be lost or compromised.

Cyberattacks

Cyberattacks cover a broad spectrum of malicious activities aimed at infiltrating systems to steal, corrupt or manipulate sensitive information. More than 72% of organizations worldwide suffered a cyberattack in 2023. Threat actors exploit vulnerabilities in networks or applications, compromising data integrity and confidentiality. Such breaches can lead to massive data exfiltration or system compromises, causing financial and reputational damage to your business.

Malware

Malware or malicious software is one of the most commonly used tools by cybercriminals to infiltrate systems and execute harmful actions. Some widely used malware types include viruses, worms, Trojans and spyware, which can corrupt files, steal sensitive data or render systems inoperable. Malware infections often result from unsuspecting users downloading infected files or clicking on malicious links, leading to data loss through data corruption, theft or system compromise.

Ransomware

Ransomware falls within the category of malicious software. This type of malware is designed to encrypt files or systems. Once the files or systems are encrypted, access is denied until a ransom is paid. It prevents users from accessing critical data, disrupting operations and causing significant data loss and downtime. Ransomware was the most commonly identified cyberattack globally in 2022, accounting for approximately 68% of all detected cyberattacks.

Phishing

Phishing is one of the most prevalent cyberthreats businesses face today. It is estimated that threat actors send a whopping 3.4 billion phishing emails daily to target unsuspecting users. Phishing attacks leverage deceptive tactics to deceive unsuspecting users into disclosing confidential data such as login credentials, financial details or personal data. These attacks often occur via fraudulent emails, messages or websites that mimic legitimate entities. Once an individual reveals their information, cybercriminals exploit it to gain unauthorized access to systems or steal confidential data.

Insider risks

Data loss resulting from insider risk involves employees or internal personnel intentionally or inadvertently compromising data security. Whether through malicious intent, negligence or lack of awareness, insider threats can lead to severe data breaches. Employees with access to sensitive information might deliberately leak data for personal gain or unintentionally mishandle it due to inadequate training or errors in judgment. This could involve copying confidential data onto unauthorized devices, sharing sensitive information with unauthorized parties, or even theft of intellectual property. According to the 2023 Insider Threat Report by Cybersecurity Insiders, about 75% of organizations surveyed revealed that insider threats have become more frequent. The study also found that the average cost associated with an insider threat incident in 2023 is $15.38 million.

Unintentional exposure

Unintentional exposure of data occurs when employees inadvertently disclose sensitive information through actions like misaddressed emails, improper file-sharing settings or accidental data leaks. This type of data loss is often the result of human error, such as sending an email containing sensitive data to the wrong recipient or sharing confidential information on a public platform. Unintentional exposure highlights the critical need for user training on proper data handling procedures, implementing encryption and access controls, and employing data loss prevention solutions to detect and prevent accidental data leaks. A study conducted by Stanford University researchers and a leading cybersecurity firm revealed that around 88% of data breaches stem from employee mistakes.

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How does data loss prevention work?

DLP solutions use a multifaceted approach to prevent data loss:

• Content discovery: Sophisticated DLP tools and technologies use predefined rules or machine learning algorithms to scan and identify sensitive data across various repositories, including databases, file servers and cloud storage. They interact seamlessly with other systems, like content management systems, to identify content requiring restriction, thus preventing unauthorized file transfers or information dissemination.
• Monitoring and analysis: DLP systems continuously monitor data flow across networks, endpoints and cloud services. They use predefined policies and rules to analyze and identify anomalous behavior or policy violations, immediately flagging potential incidents such as unauthorized data transfers, attempts to access restricted information or suspicious user activities.
• Policy enforcement: DLP solutions help establish policies and rules to prevent unauthorized access, sharing or modification of sensitive data, often through encryption, access controls or user activity monitoring. By tailoring rules in accordance with company policies, your business can classify data, including financial records, critical operational data or intellectual property. This will also allow you to set appropriate security levels based on content type and its significance to your business.
• Incident response and reporting: DLP tools help respond to potential breaches or policy violations promptly. These solutions assist in post-incident analysis by providing detailed logs and reports, which include information about the incident, such as the type of data involved, the user or system responsible, the time of the incident and the actions taken by the DLP system. This data aids forensic investigations, helping security teams understand the scope and nature of the incident.

What to look for in a data loss prevention solution

Data loss prevention is an indispensable element of modern cybersecurity strategies. That’s why selecting the right DLP solution is critical for your business. Listed below are some key factors that should be considered when evaluating DLP solutions.

• Content discovery and classification: A robust DLP solution should offer advanced content discovery capabilities, accurately identifying and classifying sensitive data. Look for solutions that can recognize various data types, including personally identifiable information, financial records, intellectual property and confidential documents across different formats and locations.
• Flexibility and customization: The DLP solution you choose must allow customization and flexibility in creating policies and rules tailored to your organization’s requirements. Your solution must allow setting granular policies based on specific data types, user roles and business workflows, which is critical to ensure more precise protection and minimize false positives.
• Monitoring capabilities across channels: Opt for a DLP solution that provides comprehensive monitoring capabilities across various communication channels, endpoints, cloud services and network traffic to secure data in use, in motion and at rest. This includes monitoring emails, file transfers, web uploads and data stored within databases and cloud repositories.
  • Data in use: Securing data within endpoints or applications as it undergoes active processing by authenticating users and controlling access to sensitive data.
  • Data in motion: Protecting confidential data as it travels across networks by employing encryption methods or utilizing email and messaging security tools.
  • Data at rest: Safeguarding data stored in diverse locations such as the cloud, databases, or storage mediums like backup tapes and endpoint devices. This is accomplished through the implementation of access control, encryption techniques and data retention policies.
• Incident response and reporting capabilities: Look for DLP solutions with robust incident response functionalities that enable you to act swiftly upon detecting security incidents. Additionally, the solution should offer detailed reporting and analytics features, providing insights into security events, policy violations and trends to support compliance and continuous improvement.
• Scalability and integration: Consider a DLP solution that can scale as your organization grows. It should also integrate seamlessly with existing security infrastructure, for example, security information and event management (SIEM) systems, firewalls or endpoint protection tools.
• Support cloud-based applications: With more organizations migrating workloads to the cloud, choosing a DLP solution that supports cloud applications becomes critical. Make sure the DLP tool you select integrates with popular Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) apps like Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 and Salesforce to reinforce your data protection strategies effectively.

How can Spanning help you with data loss prevention?

Businesses of all sizes are embracing cloud services. It is expected that spending on public cloud services will grow by 21.7% in 2023, reaching $597.3 billion. According to a report by Skyhigh Security, businesses store more than 60% of their sensitive data in the cloud. The report also found that most organizations using cloud solutions have suffered at least one cybersecurity incident in 2022.

While cloud services offer multiple benefits, the harsh reality about cloud data is it’s not immune to cyberthreats and data loss. That’s why you must ensure your company’s sensitive data, stored in SaaS applications like Microsoft 365, is securely backed up and recoverable at all times to maintain business continuity when such instances do occur.

Spanning Backup for Microsoft 365 offers comprehensive protection with automated daily backups, eliminating manual and time-consuming backup processes and allowing you to focus on other critical projects. Spanning provides seamless backup and recovery capabilities, such as advanced search and point-in-time restore functions that help minimize data loss and downtime. Additionally, Spanning’s end-user self-service functionality empowers your employees to find and restore lost files quickly without IT intervention.

Spanning Backup for Microsoft 365 allows IT administrators to customize backup settings and license management, giving them complete control to effectively monitor and manage backups. Built-in intrusion detection features, such as dark web monitoring and encryption, protect your sensitive information from internal and external threats and data loss. Spanning Backup is reliable, secure and affordable, and its multilayer approach to data protection ensures your data is secure, available and compliant.

Schedule a demo today to experience Spanning’s powerful yet easy-to-use capabilities.