Last Updated on August 17, 2024 by Asfa Rasheed
Today, many companies are going to hybrid or work-from-home offices. With the distance, employees are sending a lot of emails. Unfortunately, thousands of these emails contain sensitive data. That means there are thousands of chances for a data breach. Therefore, every business owner is looking for a way to prevent data loss. Fortunately, email DLP (data loss prevention) is a viable option. Here are the answers to your questions about DLP so you can decide if it suits your company. SEO
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What Is It?
Email DLP systems are tools that monitor emails sent from your company’s servers to determine if they are a potential threat. There are many different ways that these systems work, so you have plenty of options for which is suitable for your business. However, each is designed to monitor inbound and outbound emails, find suspicious activity, and encrypt or block any emails that threaten a company’s privacy.
Do You Need It?
You have to prioritize how you’ll spend your security budget. If you have to meet any cybersecurity measure, you’ll probably need to have a DLP in place.
Can It Handle Inbound Threats?
Malicious attackers can attempt to steal your sensitive information via inbound emails. They do this in many ways, including phishing, spear phishing, and malware. Fortunately, DLP systems can protect against these threats.
Can It Handle Internal Threats?
External threats should not be the only thing you are concerned about, as internal threats can come from various places. Fortunately, DLP systems can protect against internal company threats.
Can It Manage Accidents?
Anyone can have an accident. Just think about some of the mistakes you’ve made with your email DLP. Those mistakes can lead to data breaches. Organizations with hundreds or thousands of employees can send hundreds or thousands of emails to the wrong recipient by accident. Thankfully, DLP systems can prevent accidents from happening.
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Can It Detect Malicious Intent?
Employees or anyone else with access to your servers can steal your data. You’re more likely to have a data breach due to an accident, but malicious intent does exist. For example, an employee may decide they want your sensitive information so they can start their venture or receive compensation from another business. Intelligent DLP systems can detect malicious intent and prevent data breaches from the inside.
Are There Multiple Solutions?
Several solutions can help your business reduce its risk. These include security awareness training, strict company policies, intelligent email DLP systems, rule-based DLP systems, and physical security. While you may be tempted to stick with one of these, it is best to have at least two options at play. Suppose you have to choose only one to implement. In this case, choose a technology-based DLP system. Both rule-based and machine-learning are capable of significantly minimizing accidents and malicious attacks.
How Does Rule-Based Work?
These DLP systems have established rules that search emails for sensitive data, activities, and domains. If it detects any sensitive information, it will encrypt the email, flag it, or block it. It has proven highly effective for many small companies. However, it does have limitations. For example, it doesn’t consider the human context of each situation and may not determine if an email is inappropriate, or it could flag emails that should be sent.
How Does Machine-Learning Work?
Intelligent or machine-learning systems work by adding human context to a situation. For example, these systems learn how your staff members communicate and add these patterns to their analysis. It works by gathering large amounts of data about each person’s communication and finding norms, which can turn into additional rules. These systems are often recommended if you adhere to government security measures.
Your employees can accidentally or maliciously share sensitive data. Fortunately, there are plenty of options when it comes to DLP systems, so you can find one that works to protect your business. If you have strict security measures you must adhere to, machine-learning ones will help you with compliance.
