Seven Data Loss Prevention Techniques of 2024

Discover seven cutting-edge Data Loss Prevention techniques in 2024 to protect sensitive data, prevent breaches, and secure your organization’s digital assets.

Introduction

Data breaches and cyber threats are becoming increasingly common in this digital era, and protecting valuable information is the top priority for data-driven organizations. To curb the constant issues of data being compromised, lost, and misused, a Data Protection Officer (DPO) and their teams can implement a data loss prevention (DLP) strategy and tools that will continuously monitor and analyze data to identify potential violations of security policies and stop them from evolving. 

In this article, we will take a closer look at the seven steps of DLP strategies and tools that will help in enhancing the security of your IT structures.

Seven-Step Framework in Deploying DLP Strategy

If any business is handling sensitive data and operating in a regulated environment or suffers from repeated cybersecurity threats, it’s time that needs to add DLP strategies.

Proofpoint’s 2024 data loss landscape report indicates that 84.7% of enterprises have encountered data loss, with an average of 15 incidents per organization per year. This implies the importance of appropriately implementing DLP strategies.

Therefore, without any further ado, let’s understand the seven-step strategic framework of DLP:

1. Identify and Classify Your Data

To protect data effectively, DPOs need to know the exact type of data that they need to work on.

With the help of data discovery tools such as Informatica, Spectral, and Osano, data discovery administrators will scan the data repositories and report on findings, providing visibility of what needs to be protected. These tools further use regular expressions for their searches; they are very flexible but can be complicated to fine-tune.

After implementing data discovery, data administrators can use data classification software such as Varonis, Fortra Digital Guardian, and Imperva which will help them control users’ data access and avoid storing sensitive data in any unsure locations, reducing the risk of data leaks and data loss.

2. Use Data Encryption

In the data-centric world, encryption provides a two-step security measure that involves converting data into code that is only deciphered with a decryption key.

Organizations that deal with extremely sensitive forms of data are required to follow data security standards and regulations, including the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). If an organization fails to comply with encrypting sensitive data, it can result in regulatory non-compliance and can lead to costly data breaches and legal penalties.

Therefore, to safeguard, data professionals can use different data encryption tools such as IBM Security Guardium Encryption, Thales CipherTrust, and Sophos SafeGuard Encryption, which add complex mathematical algorithms to data and transform it into a random series of characters that are indecipherable without the suitable decryption key.

Now, when the data needs to be accessed, the decryption key is used to decode the encrypted data back into its original, readable form.

3. Enable Access Controls

Access controls are another essential security measure that aids system and network administrators in restricting unwanted access to sensitive data and assuring that it is unrestricted only to authorized individuals who need it to fulfill their job functions.

The access controls can be managed in different arrangements:

• In password-protected accounts, the system and network administrators will provide full control over usernames and passwords to access sensitive data.
  
  
• Multi-factor authentication further adds a second layer of security by demanding users provide a unique form of authentication, through a fingerprint scan or a security token.
  
  
• Lastly, role-based access controls restrict access to sensitive data based on every individual’s job role and level of authority in the organization.

Therefore, by implementing the above methods, you can prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing sensitive data, minimize the risk of insider threats, and limit the deterioration caused by a data breach.

4. Monitor Data Access

After enabling access control, it is equally important for system and network administrators to monitor data access, which will help you track who is accessing organizations’ sensitive data when it comes to accessing it and what they do with it. Through this technique, organizations can quickly identify potential data branches and take action to prevent unauthorized access.

However, there are several ways to monitor data access, for instance:

• Logging access attempts and analyzing the system helps administrators identify unauthorized access attempts and provide records on who has accessed it and when.
  
  
• Further reviewing user activity logs provides valuable insights into how users interact with data and identify security threats.
  
  
• Lastly, using real-time monitoring tools such as Datadog Real User Monitoring, Zabbix, and IBM MQ Explorer can detect suspicious activity and alert cybersecurity professionals about potential data breaches.

Monitoring data access is also a critical component of many data security standards and regulations, including PCI DSS and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Therefore, by monitoring data access, system and network administrators and cybersecurity professionals can quickly respond to data breaches, minimize the damage caused by a breach, and prevent further unauthorized access.

5. Execute Regular Security Audits

Regular security audits are a crucial component of any thorough DLP strategy. Stringent security audits focus on renewing security policies, procedures, and controls, allowing security auditors to identify any potential vulnerabilities and recommend remediation actions to address them. The audit is not limited to data prevention but also to safeguarding software, hardware, and network infrastructure.

However, the regular auditing process can be a tedious task; therefore, security auditors can automate the process by using tools such as Palo Alto Networks, Tufin, and ManageEngine, which will analyze the dataset or network and identify compliance and provide detailed reports with patch recommendations.

Once vulnerabilities have been identified, you can take the necessary actions to address them before attackers can manipulate them to access sensitive data; this action includes patching software, updating hardware, implementing new security controls, or revising security policies and procedures.

6. Educate Your Employees

Many of the worst threats to an organization start with minute human error, and neglecting the threat gradually starts the real damage, such as ransomware attacks or misinformation. According to Proofpoint’s Insider Threats Global Report, the majority of insider threats, i.e., estimated around 56%, resulted from negligent insiders. Therefore, educating employees is a vital task for creating an effective DLP strategy.

Educating employees about data security and data privacy organizations can reduce the risk of data loss or theft caused by human error. This also includes training on how to pinpoint phishing emails, methods to avoid clicking on suspicious links or attachments, using secure passwords, and implementing MFA in every file.

In addition to training employees on the best practices, security professionals should also document policies and procedures for data handling and access control. With these guidelines, employees can handle sensitive data, understand the importance of encrypted storage devices, and prohibit the use of personal email accounts for work-related activities.

These tactics will keep your employees informed about the latest developments in cybersecurity, reducing the risk of a data breach and retaining the confidentiality of sensitive information.

7. Implement Incident Response Procedures

Despite all the security measures taken to eliminate data breaches, these instances can still occur due to numerous factors, such as unique or unknown vulnerabilities in the system or a progressive and tenacious attacker. According to a report by Cybint, more than 77% of organizations do not have an incident response plan; this indicates that the security team should consider a robust incident response plan that can save them from the event of a data breach.

With the help of the incident response team, the cybersecurity team can create a potent incident response plan which will typically include the following steps:

• In the initial stage, the SOC analyst identifies the nature and scope of the data breach, which is essential to gaining knowledge about which data has been compromised, the number of affected individuals, and how the breach occurred.
  
  
• Once you have identified, now is the time to limit the spread of the comprised data. The whole process of isolating the affected systems, and shutting down affected services is conducted under the guidance of the Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) to prevent further data loss.
   
• Further, the CSIRT notifies affected individuals, regulatory authorities, and other stakeholders and sets the required law and company policy. With timely notification about the event, the incident management team can make accurate steps and provide a clear picture of the breach’s nature and steps to address it.
  
  
• The intelligence and incident management teams then conduct a detailed investigation to specify the root cause of the breach, the proportions of the damage, and any other relevant details. This may involve a forensic analysis team to identify the affected systems, interviews with employees, and other investigative techniques.
  
  
• Lastly, disciplinary actions should be implemented to prevent similar breaches from occurring in the future. The incident response team (IRT) and cybersecurity team can collaborate on patching vulnerabilities, upgrading security controls, or revising policies and procedures.

By implementing these methods, you design a robust incident response plan that can minimize the harm caused by a data breach, decrease the risk of legal and reputational influences, and quickly return to business as usual.

Conclusion

DLP strategies involve continuous and proactive management of data security. Organizations can accomplish this comprehensive data protection by integrating the above best practices and tools into their everyday operations and practicing eliminating data breaches, minimizing the impact of insider threats, and quickly returning to the business. By implementing these strategies the cybersecurity team can effectively protect sensitive data and reduce the risk of legal and reputational consequences.

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