Understanding and Selecting Data Loss Prevention Solution

Data Loss is one of the most excited and least understood equipment in the security frontline. With at least a dozen different names and even more technology approaches, it can be challenging to understand the tools’ ultimate value and which products best suit which location. This report will provide the necessary overview in Data Loss Prevention to help you know the technology, understand what to look for in a system, and find your organization’s best target.

DLP is an adolescent technology that provides relevant value for those industries that need it, despite equipment that may not be as mature as other IT areas. Startups currently dominate the market, but large vendors have started stepping in, typically through acquisition.

The first issue in understanding Data Loss case studies is figuring out what we’re talking about. The following points are being used to explain the same market.

• Data Loss Prevention/Protection

information Loss Prevention

• Data Leak Prevention/Protection
• Information Leak Prevention/Protection
• Extrusion Prevention
• Content Monitoring and Protection
• Content Monitoring and Filtering

Data Loss Protection

seems the most common term, and while its life is probably minimal, we will use it in this article for simplicity.

Defining Data Loss Protection

There is a shortage of consensus on what compromises a Data Loss case study solution. Some companies consider encryption or USB port control Data Loss Protection, while others limit themselves to complete product suites. Securosis defines DLP as:

Based on central policies, products that identify, monitor, and protect data at rest, in motion, and use, through in-depth content analysis. Thus the critical defining qualities are massive content analysis, Central policy, Broad content coverage across many platforms and locations.

Data Loss Protection Features vs Data Loss Protection Solutions

The Data Loss Protection market is also split between DLP as a feature and DLP as a solution. Several products, particularly email security solutions, provide essential Data Loss Protection functions but aren’t complete Data Loss Protection solutions. The difference is:

A Data Loss Protection Product includes centralized management, policy creation, and enforcement workflow, dedicated to monitoring and protecting content and data. The user interface and functionality are equipped to solve the industry and technical problems of safeguarding data through content awareness.

Data Loss Protection Features include some of the detection and enforcement capabilities of Data Loss Protection products but are not dedicated to protecting data.

This distinction is relevant because Data Loss Protection products solve a specific industry problem that may or may not be equipped by the same business body or industry responsible for other security responsibilities. We often see non-technical personnel, such as legal or compliance officers accountable for the protection of content. Even human resources are often involved with the disposition of Data Loss Protection alerts. Some organizations find that the Data Loss Protection rules themselves are highly sensitive or need to be equipped by business unit leaders outside of security, which may argue for a dedicated solution. Because DLP is dedicated to an apparent industry problem, most of them should look for reliable Data Loss Protection solutions.

This doesn’t mean that Data Loss Protection as a feature won’t be the right business solution, especially in smaller organizations. It also doesn’t mean that you won’t purchase a suit that includes DLP, as long as the Data Loss Protection management is separate and equipped to DLP. We’ll be seeing more and more suites as large people enter the space, and it often makes sense to run Data Loss Protection analysis or enforcement within another product. The central policy creation, equipment, and workflow should be dedicated to the DLP problem and isolated from other security functions.