What is

Data Loss Prevention (DLP)?

DLP is a business programme focused on preventing sensitive data from being accessed, used or shared by unauthorised users, either accidentally or maliciously.

DLP is about enhancing how you safeguard your sensitive business data from a potential data breach. It’s more than just a "tooling" conversation; it’s a strategic programme of work that marries business engagement at all levels,

together with policy expertise, structured processes, knowledgeable personnel and reliable technology. Too often organisations think that DLP is an IT project; we know that this is not the case.

What are the

perceived challenges?

DLP is often considered challenging because of the careful balance required between security, usability and effectiveness. In fact, over 35% of first generation DLP deployments fail (source: Gartner) providing the discipline with a poor reputation and an association with “opening a can of worms”.

Here are some reasons why:

DLP is often considered challenging because of the careful balance required between security, usability and effectiveness. In fact, over 35% of first generation DLP deployments fail (source: Gartner) providing the discipline with a poor reputation and an association with “opening a can of worms”.

Here are some reasons why:

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High False Positives/False Negatives:

Eroding trust in the system and increasing administrative workload.

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Complex Policy Management:

Misconfigured polices can either block business critical tasks or fail to detect real threats.

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User Resistance & Workarounds:

Intrusive DLP may undermine its own effectiveness as employees look for ways to bypass controls.

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Limited Context Awareness:

The lack of data-type context may prevent the ability to distinguish between malicious and benign actions.

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Performance & Scalability Issues:

Increasing data volumes may adversely impact real time performance.

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Inadequate Coverage Across Platforms:

Often limited coverage across cloud apps, mobile devices & remote endpoints creates hybrid-working blindspots.

However, it doesn't have to be. We understand the critical success factors and have created a programme based on successful outcomes that we affectionately refer to as "DLP360".

Making DLP simple

It's all about policy

DLP360 starts with a conversation about how we can unify your on-premises and cloud data environments, using a single tooling framework, that can be managed under a single intuitive interface. Built on a precise data-centric policy structure, DLP360 enhances business efficiency, cuts operational costs and consolidates policies into a cohesive system, significantly reducing false positives/negatives (the root cause of the majority of Gen 1 DLP implementation failures).

DLP360 consists of multiple pick'n'mix components dependant on where you are currently along your journey. A typical programme is shown below:

Experience shows that there are only three main outcomes organisations focus on:

  • No adverse impact to users
  • No "headache" for IT to manage
  • No inadvertent data loss

Watch our video for an overview of DLP360:

How we help

We know what successful DLP looks like

The concept of DLP360 is vendor-agnostic. It represents a journey-based business strategy that helps you achieve programmatic success.

Drawing from extensive experience, we start by focusing on the most common blind spot that is “not knowing what you don’t know”. This data-discovery-first approach provides stakeholders with powerful insights enabling them to make more accurate, impactful decisions.

Each organisation has their own starting point for the simple reason that you know what is most important to you. We are not here to mark your work. Instead we're here to help you re-frame, providing you with impartial advice and guidance to accelerate you towards your intended outcomes.

Give us a call so we can understand where you are currently with DLP; who knows, we might be able to help!

The concept of DLP360 is vendor-agnostic. It represents a journey-based business strategy that helps you achieve programmatic success.

Drawing from extensive experience, we start by focusing on the most common blind spot that is “not knowing what you don’t know”. This data-discovery-first approach provides stakeholders with powerful insights enabling them to make more accurate, impactful decisions.

Each organisation has their own starting point for the simple reason that you know what is most important to you. We are not here to mark your work. Instead we're here to help you re-frame, providing you with impartial advice and guidance to accelerate you towards your intended outcomes.

Give us a call so we can understand where you are currently with DLP; who knows, we might be able to help!

The relationship between

DLP, Zero Trust & Policy Management

The focus of DLP is to control the sensitive data that leaves your organisation, Zero Trust extends this span of control to add in the flexibility of controlled user access.  Where Zero Trust uses real-time factors (such as identity, locations, device health) to determine access permissions, DLP uses contextual factors (data classification, file content, destination) to enforce rules for data protection.  Zero Trust enforces who can access resources whilst DLP enforces how the data can be used and protected after access has been granted.

Here's what's really important: both are only as successful as the policy framework underpinning them.  

Typically, what we see is that Zero Trust is owned by your Infrastructure Team and DLP by your IT Security Team but neither team fully appreciates that they are both part of the same picture. We bring DLP (both on premises and cloud) and Zero Trust under a single policy framework providing a common language, with a common foundation, thereby mitigating operational silos.  

We're here to provide you with help, support and add value at every stage within this process.

One framework for everything.  Simple.