DLP, or Data Loss Prevention, is a combination of people, tools, strategies, technologies, and processes designed to prevent unauthorized access, use, or transmission of data. DLP is used when referring to sensitive data—work product, financial data, customer information, or other sensitive assets. The objective is to keep this data from being leaked, lost, or accessed without authorization. It also helps achieve compliance with regulations like HIPAA, CCPA, PCI DSS, GDPR and more.
Review the latest statistics for data breaches, the costs of those breaches, and the most common types of compromised data, including the industries they impacted here.
A DLP solution uses tools like antivirus software, AI, and machine learning to detect suspicious activity by comparing and analyzing content with your DLP policy. This defines how your organization shares data without exposing it to unauthorized users.
In 2022, a global survey of IT and cybersecurity experts revealed the primary mistake that lead to cyber incidents: Employee weak password practices.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) best practices
Identify and classify data: Conduct a data inventory, identifying sensitive information your organization stores, processes, and uses. Use classification tools to label data by sensitivity.
Policy: Define rules for handling sensitive data. These policies should include access control, sharing, and storage rules. Create policies based on your specific industry regulations and security requirements.
Encryption: Protect sensitive data in transit, but also white it’s stored.
Monitor Access: Use DLP solutions to track and control how your data moves—this includes transfers across endpoints, networks, and cloud environments. Prevent unauthorized transfers, attachments, and exfiltrations.
Educate Everyone: Ensure users and stakeholders alike know how to protect your company data. Train employees on security risks and safe handling. This could include phishing simulations and routine awareness training or drills.
Incident Response: Have a plan at the read to mitigate damage in the event of a breach.
Automation: Automate DLP processes anywhere possible to scale across your entire company.
Efficacy: Track every metric, from the number of attempts to the time to respond.
Audit, Review, and Test: Set up routine review periods to evaluate your DLP strategy, refine needed areas, and address any new threats. Test your policies and use the results to refine based on evolving threat strategies.
Anomalies: Look for areas within your data that stand out or go against the grain—a glitch in the matrix.
Data Storage: Don’t save any unnecessary information, only what is essential to doing business.
Disaster Recovery: Create a plan for re-establishing your systems after natural disasters, cyber attacks, or other disruptive events. The faster you can re-establish your systems the more likely you are to control the damage. Data recovery should also include internal and external communication strategies to ensure that you control the narrative to your employees and your customers.
Three Phases of Protection
An ideal DLP plan will ensure your data is protected when it is at rest, in transit, and in motion (use).
Data In Use
This is data that is currently accessed, modified, and processed by users.
- Monitor and control how users interact with this data on endpoints.
- Implement endpoint DLP solutions to prevent copying, printing, and screenshots as needed.
- Restrict removable media like USB drives to reduce data theft risks.
Tools and strategies for protecting data when it’s in use.
- User monitoring watches the activity of users with privileged access.
- Usage monitoring watches the use of critical data to flag inappropriate or irregular use.
- Data anonymization removes identification when it is not required or in use.
- Export control restricts a users ability to copy, past, print or otherwise lift unapproved data.
Data In Motion
This is data that is being transmitted over a network.
- Monitor traffic to detect and block unauthorized transfers.
- Use secure communication protocols.
- Apply email and web filtering to prevent leaks (intentional or accidental).
Tools and strategies for protecting data when it’s in transit.
- Border security ensures that unencrypted critical data cannot leave your premises.
- Monitoring watches network traffic, flags unauthorized transfers, and identifies threats.
- Internet access control prevents users from accessing unauthorized sites to reduce the risk of data theft through social media or personal websites.
- Third party exchanges ensure these types of exchanges take place in a secure environment.
- Remote access ensures that access to the corporate network is only under secure conditions.
Data At Rest
This is data that is stored in databases, file servers, and cloud storage.
- Protect stored data through access controls, encryption, and authentication.
- Prevent unauthorized storage or transfer through with technologies to enforce DLP policies.
- Regularly back up data and securely dispose of outdated or unneeded information.
Tools and strategies for protecting data when it’s not being used.
- Endpoint security limits a users ability to install software or modify security settings.
- Host encryption ensures hard disks are encrypted on all servers and devices.
- Mobile device protection ensures devices have password protection and access controls.
- Network storage classifies information on a need-to-know basis through leveled access.
- Physical media access prevents copying critical data to unauthorized devices.
To better understand the types of data threats that can put your company and customer data at risk, check out our holiday blog on popular business scams and attacks.
With 90% of organizations relying on cloud infrastructure in 2025, DLP tools optimized for cloud environments will play a pivotal role in securing hybrid work forces and distributed data systems.
Protection with Flexibility
Many businesses find it hard to implement DLP strategies while still attracting top talent through flexible work options. Remote, contract, and hybrid environments may pose challenges with device access, physical network controls, or endpoint access in general. VirtualPBX communication tools are specifically designed with these business environments in mind, offering data protection, secure access, and leveled information control without device access through The Work Browser—a protected browser you can personalize and tier specifically for your company, team members, and compliance or regulatory requirements.
