It has many names, from “data loss prevention” and “data leakage prevention” to the brief “DLP,” but regardless of which term you use, this objective and its network tools are designed for one major task: detect and prevent unauthorized transmission of your data to outside parties.
DLP tools process highly classified or sensitive information, such as PCI, PII and PHI and ensures that end users don’t send that information outside of your network. These tools are built for a perimeter-based prevention approach, client-based approach and a combination of the two. In today's world, this includes wherever the data lives, cloud, on premise or at the endpoints.
As you might guess, these tools are prevalent with government agencies and in the banking and insurance industries.
Data loss prevention is not the simplest mechanism. As Network World writes, “Finding the right perimeter-based data loss prevention tool means striking a balance between speed, accuracy at detecting and blocking sensitive data from exiting the network, and adequate coverage across a broad range of rule-sets and protocols.”
How To Leverage Data Loss Prevention Tools
DLP tools must have access to all outbound connections from your transaction processing network in order to completely secure your data. Do not restrict this program. In fact, you may even need additional resources to maintain strong data and network security. And as one information security expert explains, most data leakage prevention tools block unwanted traffic only when it’s combined with a network, so managing your egress filtering helps to block as much of such traffic as possible.
DLP Installation
In most cases, companies that provide data loss prevention services come on site to configure their tools for you. Even if you installed them yourself, the process is relatively simple and straightforward for most products, though there are some tools that require a bit of communication between you and your DLP partner.Upon installation, your DLP tool should pass data between the simulated LAN and WAN, at which point you’re able to customize your own specifications for filtering data. This could be anything from source code to credit card numbers and other sensitive information to types or sizes of files. Typically, you also have the power to customize protocols for how your DLP tool blocks data.
Connection Issues
Gaining access to complete network traffic is essential for successful data loss prevention. SPAN ports will not provide 100% of network traffic when oversubscribed or unavailable. If your DLP tools need to simultaneously monitor multiple network segments and aggregate or replicate data to multiple network tools, a network TAP is more reliable device.
In addition, because a DLP tool needs to be installed in-line, it might create network downtime in the event of failure or need for maintenance, depending on how it’s connected to your network. With bypass TAPs, however, the network link is able to run while any work is being performed. To properly mitigate the risk of data loss, ensure that you’re able to intelligently connect your DLP tool. Otherwise, there’s always a greater possibility that your precious information is in danger.
Read more about Data Loss Prevention Tools in our free white paper, What's Your Network Missing: 7 Tools to TAP