India is rapidly transforming into a digital society, where safeguarding the continuously growing amount of sensitive data has become essential for all organizations. Recognizing this urgency, companies have been actively working towards establishing a robust data security strategy. A Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solution proves to be one of the critical components to protecting confidential information, as it helps organizations keep close tabs on when, where, and how data moves in and out of their networks.
Organizations in India are spending more on information security each year, and are keenly looking at innovative tools to defend themselves from cyber-attacks and threats. Let’s check the main reasons why DLP solutions are a vital part of every organization’s data protection arsenal.
1. The Growing Amount of Data
Data has become one of the most valuable and vulnerable assets of organizations. Safeguarding this asset has become of paramount importance to any organization, given the high risks associated with the failure to protect data. Security has to shift towards a data-centric approach, involving a switch from securing networks, applications, and endpoints to identifying, controlling, and securing data.
A comprehensive data protection strategy involves DLP solutions, like Endpoint Protector by CoSoSys, that aim to prevent sensitive data and confidential information from being stored, used, or transferred insecurely. Organizations can set specific rules – at a very granular level – around data access and movement. The protection of sensitive data at rest, in transit, and on endpoints can be assured, reducing the likelihood of data theft or unauthorized exposure.
2. Rising Costs of Data Breaches
Data protection has always been a concern for organizations, and a host of factors have made DLP an even more valuable tool. Among these factors are data breaches and leaks which have become some of the most prevalent cybersecurity issues worldwide.
In the past years, security incidents in India have included several leakages of Aadhaar numbers, medical records, and financial data. Data has increasing value, and the costs of breaches are getting higher on a global level. DLP solutions can help organizations decrease the risks of data leaks by discovering, monitoring, controlling, and securing sensitive data.
3. Ensure Regulatory Compliance
With the worldwide emergence of data protection laws and regulations, such as GDPR, CCPA, or PCI DSS, it is clear that across countries and industries, a greater emphasis is put on safeguarding sensitive information, including Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Intellectual Property (IP). Organizations now have to keep up with the ever-evolving data protection policies; not protecting these assets can cause both reputational and financial risk.
Recently, India passed the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill Act (DPDP Act) which incorporates several GDPR-like features. Like GDPR, the DPDP Act prioritizes user consent for data processing and mandates strict measures in case of data breaches. However, it brings in nuances tailored to the country’s sociocultural and economic contexts. This law establishes a set of rights for data principals (individuals) and obligations for data fiduciaries (entities processing the data). Some of these rights include the right to access, correct, and erase personal data. On the other side, fiduciaries are obligated to ensure the data’s security, inform principals about data breaches, and more.
4. Insider Threats
Although organizations place significant emphasis on keeping out external threats, insider risks are likely to pose an even greater threat. The volume and frequency of security breaches caused by disgruntled, careless, or negligent insiders have risen significantly in recent times. Regardless of the intentions, a breach can cause financial and reputational harm to organizations. According to The Ponemon Institute’s report, the average cost of an insider threat annually is $16.2 million.
While these risks cannot be eliminated, with the right strategies and solutions, they can be minimized. Training and awareness are essential tactics for preventing insider threats; deploying a DLP solution can further help businesses mitigate these risks. Organizations can monitor communication channels (e.g., ports, protocols, storage locations) and prevent certain data from leaving the corporate perimeter based on predefined rules.
5. Emergence of BYOD
The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend is prevalent in the workforce, as it helps to increase productivity and decrease costs. However, it also represents a major security concern for businesses. In many cases, employees aren’t tied to an office desktop anymore, the devices and security measures used throughout an organization have an essential role in enabling safe, efficient remote work.
With complete endpoint monitoring, DLP technologies can prevent employees, third-party vendors, and contractors from intentionally or inadvertently leaking data. Sensitive data can be scanned, encrypted, or deleted remotely when found or blocked from being transferred.
DLP can help organizations in different industries comply with required regulations by protecting sensitive data wherever it lives. DLP policies can be created in order to prevent unwanted breaches due to employee negligence or malicious intent. With Endpoint Protector, organizations have the ability to discover, monitor, and protect their sensitive data across Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems.
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