data loss prevention (DLP) Data loss prevention (DLP) is a set of information security tools that is intended to stop users from sending sensitive or critical information outside of the corporate network. Adoption of DLP, variously called data leak prevention, information loss prevention or extrusion prevention, is being driven by significant insider threats and by more rigorous state privacy laws, many of which have stringent data protection or access components. DLP products use business rules to examine file content and tag confidential and critical information so that users cannot disclose it. Tagging is the process of classifying which data on a system is confidential and marking it appropriately. A user who accidentally or maliciously attempts to disclose confidential information that's been tagged will be denied. For example, tagging might even prevent a sensitive financial spreadsheet from being emailed by one employee to another within the same corporation. DLP products generally have the following components: Endpoint: Monitor and control activities Network: Filter data streams Storage: Protect data at rest According to Peter Firstbrook, a research director at Gartner Inc., two types of DLP products are emerging: "Enterprise solutions cover all possible DLP deployment scenarios and less comprehensive single channel solutions (S-DLPs) are features of existing security solutions... The big enterprise solutions appeal primarily to large Global 2,000 organizations with complex DLP requirements and the resources to staff and manage a large-scale DLP deployment. The protection of intellectual property is often a primary consideration, while compliance is an ancillary benefit to these organizations." Implementing an enterprise DLP product can be complicated. Most large organizations have hundreds of servers with thousands of directories and files stored on them and specific types of data that needs to be tagged. The software can be useful for identifying well-defined content (like Social Security or credit cards numbers) but tends to fall short when an administrator is trying to identify other sensitive data, like intellectual property that might include graphic components, formulas or schematics. To implement enterprise DLP successfully, personnel from all levels of management need to be actively involved in creating the business rules for tags. Such teamwork will ensure that the data tagging strategy is appropriate for the business as a whole. Learn more about data loss prevention: Data loss prevention technology matures but is still no cure-all
Most DLP products are designed for looking at gateway ingress and egress points. Data loss prevention tools: A new way to prevent identity theft?
DLP technology will become the new firewall of the security industry. Data loss prevention from the inside out
Those with access to the data are the ones usually responsible for its loss. Data loss prevention benefits in the real world
SearchSecurity.com editors interviewed dozens of DLP users to find out how DLP works in the trenches of the real world. What is data loss prevention? – An introduction to DLP
DLP helps businesses make sure that their data stays secure in the data center and that as it moves around their network, there are controls in place to make sure it doesn't escape in an unauthorized manner.
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| Last updated on:
Jul 27, 2010 |
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