Data in transit is data at risk — which means a lot of data is at risk these days. Important company data regularly moves between home offices, cloud platforms and corporate networks thanks to the rise of remote and hybrid work models.
There’s always a chance that data in transit could be intercepted, accidentally delivered to the wrong person or accessed by unauthorized individuals. In fact, 55 percent of organizations have experienced a data breach involving remote workers, according to a recent report.
Most of these breaches are unintentional, usually stemming from misdirected emails or text messages. However, even simple errors such as mistyping an email address or attaching the wrong file can have potentially disastrous consequences. With remote operations now commonplace, organizations need data loss prevention (DLP) solutions.
Stopping Data Leaks with DLP
DLP is designed to identify and interrupt activities that could result in data loss or leakage. It uses various content-analysis techniques to identify sensitive data in transit, at rest or in use. It then monitors email clients, file-sharing services and other entry and exit points, taking predefined action when the sharing or transfer of data violates company policies.
DLP can help prevent confidential information from leaving the organization via email, instant messaging or collaboration tools. It can also prevent users from downloading or copying data onto unsecured endpoints.
Data discovery is another important capability of DLP solutions. Few organizations are aware of all the sensitive data that resides in their environment, and that lack of visibility contributes to many data loss incidents. DLP solutions can identify sensitive data wherever it resides, and provide a central platform for defining, managing and enforcing policies that govern the protection of that data.
Where Traditional DLP Falls Short
However, traditional DLP tools weren’t designed for today’s cloud, mobile and AI-driven work environments. They struggle with data moving through channels such as browsers and APIs, and are unable to effectively secure data in hybrid and remote settings.
These tools cannot distinguish between legitimate and malicious actions, leading to a high volume of false positives. They also struggle with encrypted traffic, personal devices (BYOD) and modern apps, failing to provide comprehensive visibility into where data is going and who is accessing it.
In addition, traditional DLP relies on static, rule-based policies that cannot adapt to dynamic data environments, new regulations or the evolving definitions of sensitive data. They were not designed to scale at cloud speed and cannot keep pace with new use cases and technology. The high number of false positives often leads to time-consuming manual investigations, slowing down threat response.
How AI Enhances DLP
AI is transforming DLP into a dynamic, intelligent solution. AI-powered DLP uses machine learning and natural language processing to understand the context and content of data, allowing for more accurate identification of sensitive information.
AI algorithms learn data usage patterns to establish a baseline of normal user behavior. They then monitor for anomalies, flagging only genuine deviations. This significantly reduces noise and false positives and aids in the early detection of threats.
AI-powered DLP provides continuous, real-time monitoring across diverse environments. When a potential leak is detected, AI can respond automatically to minimize the potential damage. As they collect more data, these systems become more effective at spotting unusual behaviors.
By analyzing historical data and patterns, AI can predict potential security breaches before they occur so that organizations can take preemptive action. AI can also suggest and dynamically adjust DLP policies based on real-time data usage patterns and evolving threats, ensuring that policies remain relevant.
How Verteks Can Help
DLP is an increasingly important part of a layered security strategy. AI makes DLP more intelligent, efficient and adaptive, allowing organizations to keep pace with the complex and ever-evolving data security landscape while reducing the burden on IT teams. Let us help you use AI-powered DLP to minimize the risk of data exposure.
