Improving the information security infrastructure with DLP

In the last few years, digitalization and informatization have been clearly visible in many areas of human activity. This trend will remain relevant for a long period of time, until all key areas move to the online format. Thanks to such a transformation, business management becomes more mobile, flexible, convenient, new opportunities for communication with the audience, provision of information about goods or services open up, it becomes possible to automate many processes, monitor the effectiveness of development and instantly respond to any changes that can have a negative impact on development.

But in parallel with all this, risks when working on the Internet are also increasing significantly. Online platforms are subject to hacker attacks, malicious software is launched on user devices, traffic is intercepted, and along with this, particularly sensitive, confidential information is stolen. This means that digitalization and informatization must be carried out in parallel with the formation of a reliable data protection circuit. A fairly large number of tools and technologies are used today to solve this problem.

One of the extremely effective and reliable solutions is — These are DLP systems. They are implemented directly into the working infrastructure and control all processes that will be implemented on the user's personal computer, as well as in communication channels. This tool is equipped with powerful analytics, which allows it to identify potential threats in diverse traffic. Such systems can aggregate data and structure it, which opens up quite broad opportunities for solving many problems facing information security departments. This is no longer just a fight against leaks, but a more comprehensive and advanced solution, which, if possible, can be supplemented with other elements of the protective infrastructure.

As part of today's review, we will tell you what a modern DLP system is, how it works, what problems it solves and what benefits it provides to businesses in practice. We will tell you what points you should pay attention to in order to initially implement this technology as correctly as possible and without subsequent modifications. We will tell you how to integrate a DLP system and where you can send the collected information. We will get acquainted with the classification of this product and what the business will receive after its integration. The information provided will help you understand the potential of using DLP systems directly in your business, as well as perform these tasks as correctly and quickly as possible.

What is a DLP system

Today, among all the tools that are presented on the market in the field of information security, DLP systems show the most rapid growth. In this case, we are talking about a fairly wide range of software products, the functionality of which allows you to build a reliable system of protection against leaks of confidential information. If you decipher the abbreviation DLP itself, it will sound like Data Leak Prevention, which literally means “prevention of data leaks”.

In practice, such systems form a protected digital perimeter within a certain company, analyzing the entire volume of outgoing, and in some cases even incoming data. In this case, not only Internet traffic is directly controlled, but also a number of other information flows. This includes documents that will be moved outside the protected system, including those on external media, printed on printers, sent via Bluetooth channels, etc.

Any DLP system is based on special mechanisms that automatically determine the degree of confidentiality of a particular document that will be detected in the intercepted traffic. In most cases, this is implemented by analyzing special markers that are added to the document in advance or by analyzing the contents of a particular file. Most modern DLP systems use the second method in practice. Its advantage is that in this case, resistance to all changes that can be made to the document immediately before it is sent is preserved. In addition, the number of confidential files that the system will work with can be expanded at any time, if necessary.

In the workflow, information in three distinct states will be examined and protected: in use, at rest, and in motion. Specifically:

• In use is data that is being accessed in the system at any given time. The DLP system will identify security issues that may arise when certain information is being used, read, updated, or even deleted from a database or network.
• Files in motion or in transit will indicate that information is moving not only within a single network or database, but also across boundaries. A common security vulnerability here is when users send important and sensitive information to personal email accounts or cloud drives where they work remotely.
• At rest refers to where they are located in the database or network. The greatest risk here is observed in the process of storing backup copies, as well as copies of confidential data in unencrypted form.

We would like to make a short clarification about what exactly we consider confidential and especially sensitive information. These will be all those files that are not originally intended for public use and transfer to third parties. This is personal information of users, commercial or state secrets and other similar information.

The main tasks facing the DLP system

The implementation of DLP technologies in a corporate system is designed to solve 2 key tasks:

1. Information security. This includes ensuring a full cycle of protecting sensitive information from any risks, including data leakage, unintentional transfer, insider trading, damage to reputation, risks of improper use and other similar issues. DLP systems include tools that can monitor the entire turnover of confidential information, recording potential risks and analyzing their possible threat.
2. Economic security. Here we are talking about monitoring and evaluating the network activity of employees at their workplaces, which will allow us to identify the misuse of working time, corporate system resources, thereby minimizing material losses.

All this allows us to confidently state that a DLP system is — this is the tool that any modern business should have.

What benefits does a business get from using a DLP system?

If you decide to implement a DLP system in your business, you will receive a tool that can provide the following advantages:

• a noticeable reduction in material costs and financial losses associated with the leakage of confidential information;
• identification of cases of abuse of personnel by their work opportunities, including the misuse of corporate resources;
• minimization of reputational and image risks caused by the leakage of particularly sensitive information;
• identification of those employees who deliberately have a negative impact on the company's work;
• investigation of incidents related to information security, identification of the channels through which data leakage is organized;
• optimization of all internal business processes, increasing the system's resistance to negative external influences and factors.

As you can see, any business can appreciate such advantages in practice, so it is important not to neglect the use of a DLP system.

Advantages and disadvantages of DLP systems

In order to finally decide on the advisability of using DLP systems directly within your business, it is important to clearly understand what advantages and disadvantages there are. So, from the strengths we will highlight:

• formation of a reliable protected accounting circuit and exchange of confidential connections within any business, enterprise;
• control over the work of personnel, monitoring of efficiency;
• compliance with legal norms and requirements, as well as current standards in the field of cybersecurity;
• prevention of leakage of sensitive data, as well as timely response to any incidents that carry risks and dangers for business operations;
• the ability to make individual settings based on the rules in the field of digital security that work directly in your business, as well as timely response to them;
• provision of comprehensive solutions in the field of collecting analytical data and ensuring information security.

However, DLP systems also have a number of disadvantages, but they are quite relative. In particular, if you make mistakes at the setup stage, then you risk not only getting a non-working system, but also disrupting internal business processes. Also, in the process of setting up and managing, professional assistance is mostly required: you should have a person who knows how to work with DLP at your disposal. And you will also need to worry about the appropriate equipment in advance, as well as connect cloud storage services. But with the right organization, this will clearly not be a serious problem for any business.

How to successfully integrate a DLP system into a business

One of the main tasks assigned to a DLP system is to provide detailed information about user activity within a designated perimeter. That is, it is important for you to create a kind of hub within which the collection and subsequent use of information in other systems, data protection will be carried out. But, in order to implement this idea, it is important to ensure that your system initially meets a number of key parameters. In particular, we are talking about:

1. Embedding DLP systems into the business infrastructure. This should be done at the level of compatibility with the operating system, software, database management system and other similar solutions that are currently used in the company.
2. Formation of high-quality and deep analysis of the received data, their structuring. This is what will allow identifying any incidents that pose a potential threat to the business. You should understand that analytics in these systems works on the basis of those search options that are initially supported by the engine. Optimally, video, photo, audio materials, texts, hidden layers, hidden objects, archives are analyzed. In this case, all system traffic will be divided into separate thematic elements, which will significantly simplify its analysis and processing.
3. Ensuring the broadest possible control. The DLP system should initially support the maximum number of channels within which information can be sent, including corporate data within the entire structure of your business. It is optimal for the system to be able to monitor even those services that are outside the corporate system perimeter, as an option on the provider side.
4. Support for universal modern data exchange technologies. This means that your DLP system should be open to additional connection of external systems. Most of these are solutions such as REST API, SMTPs, SYSLOG/CEF, ODBC, ICAP. They should be sufficient to ensure stable operation of most businesses, but in some cases additional mechanisms may be required.

That is, you must understand that the DLP system that you create in practice must ensure maximum depth of implementation and cover all control channels in your infrastructure. This is the only way to ensure the largest possible data collection and comprehensive control. Now let's talk about what to integrate into your system in order to form a truly reliable security loop.

Systems for DLP integration

Any modern DLP system can be used by a business as a source of information, as well as an analytical center where information collected from other system protection tools will be processed. In particular, you can connect it to collect data from:

• Physical security systems. Most of these are remote access control systems, alarms and video surveillance. The information that comes from them will be useful for comparing information about employee activities that are carried out through personal computers. Thanks to this, it is possible to identify forgeries, in particular, when unscrupulous colleagues or intruders work under the guise of employees and using their access keys. In most cases, integration with such systems is carried out via API connection directly to the database.
• Data protection and encryption systems. A DLP system must necessarily receive encryption keys that were previously used to protect files and archives. Only in this way will it be able to keep all content under control. This information will be pulled up automatically every time it is necessary to analyze the relevant data in order to prevent leaks. This should apply to both the company's internal documents and directly to the information that is stored in encrypted form in the external environment.
• DCAP or DAG systems. Such information is necessary to ensure the fastest possible search and automatic blocking of confidential data. If the DLP system detects the labels that were assigned to the file in DCAP, it will no longer waste time on proofreading, but will take appropriate measures immediately. This solution significantly speeds up the detection and processing of potential threats and dangers, allowing them to be eliminated before the corporate network is harmed.
• Any databases, including service software, applications that are used for direct business. The DLP system can collect information from here in order to check it for compliance with the corporate security policy. In this case, all information that is loaded from the outside will automatically be added to the interception database. Subsequently, if the system detects it in one of the channels under its control, it will definitely send it for additional analysis before passing it on to the recipient.

Such integration of DLP systems is your chance to form a truly reliable and secure structure for your business, to increase its resistance to any external manifestations.

Where can data from a DLP system be transferred

The information that the DLP system will collect and analyze can be transferred for subsequent processing to the following services:

• IRP. If you use specialized tools, you will be able to respond to potential threats more effectively and quickly. In this case, IRP will help to launch a reaction in the system after it receives information about incidents and related aspects. In addition, it is possible to generate reports on all incidents directly during the investigation.
• SIEM or SOC. Here we are talking about the majority of specialized metrics, reports, incidents. This is implemented through the classic SYSLOG/CEF bundle. Here, background work is performed that goes beyond the operating system. As a result, you can receive information about the operation of the infrastructure as a whole: about the activity of sites, processes, connected devices, etc. Moreover, in SOC and SIEM, this information can be correlated by additionally connecting the receipt of data from other sources. This is what will help identify even complex incidents in the field of information security.
• Operating system or corresponding software. If the DLP system detects a security threat, it can send the corresponding commands to other nodes using RPC/MMC or in the form of scripts on (Power) Shell/SSH, thereby provoking the automatic execution of one or another action, preventing the threat. Alternatively, here the suspicious user's account can be blocked, the data transfer process can be suspended, etc.
• EDR or XDR (depending on which tool your business uses) or in antivirus software. The information that will be at the disposal of the DLP system will become indispensable in the formation of an advanced cyber defense system. Well, in this case, it is important to make sure that both of these systems work together, that is, do not perceive each other as a threat. In addition, such a solution will ensure effective recognition of hacker attacks. If necessary, you can also transfer selected information or logs from your database.

Additionally, you can integrate the DLP system into web analytics, planning, accounting, HR services. This is what will allow you to identify failed business ideas and select the most effective ways to optimize them.

Classification of DLP systems

Today, a number of criteria are distinguished, based on which all DLP systems are divided into separate classes. Of the main ones, 2 large groups are distinguished here:

1. By the ability to block information classified as confidential, DLP systems with active and passive control of user actions are distinguished. Thus, active ones will be able to block data transfer if necessary, while passive ones will not. That is, to organize the highest possible indicators of combating accidental information leaks, it is worth using active DLP systems. But still, in this case, you need to realize that at the slightest failure, important business processes can be suspended. Therefore, if you are afraid of such consequences, then rely on these systems. In this case, you will not risk business processes, but at the same time, there will also be good protection against systematic leaks.
2. By network architecture, gateway and host DLP systems are distinguished. Gateway DLP can function on intermediate services, while host ones use special agents that work directly on staff workstations. In practice, both options are currently very often combined. Such a decision, from the point of view of many experts, will be the most justified, including in terms of security.

To choose the most suitable option, it is important to thoroughly understand the specifics of your own business, focus on those tasks that will be key for you. It will also be useful to use competent advice from specialists in the process of choosing a DLP system.

Choosing the right DLP system: points to pay attention to

Relatively recently, it was believed that a DLP system is a product developed specifically for large companies and enterprises. Here, the emphasis was on large scales, complexity in organizing internal processes, and the inability to establish effective management. But today, many other organizations have appreciated the prospects of their practical application. Now the main emphasis is not on the size of the business, but on how serious the tasks of ensuring security and protecting confidential data are set by the brand, what potential risks and threats in the field of information security it may face in practice. As a result, a large number of organizations operating in the market realized the need to use DLP systems and began to look for flexible and easy-to-use software with all the necessary functionality.

To make it easier for you to navigate the variety of solutions presented on the modern market, as well as easily choose the right option for yourself, we suggest paying attention to the following nuances:

• Communication channels that you would like to monitor in the work process. In this case, it is necessary to assess which of them can be used to organize a data leak in your case. To do this, you need to check all the channels that are used in the work process, identify the most vulnerable ones, those that attract non-targeted spending of staff working time.
• Tools that are implemented within a particular software, in particular their analytical capabilities. It is very convenient if the DLP system will include not only functions for monitoring potential hazards, but will also be able to analyze the information received and respond to it in a timely manner, preventing serious consequences.
• Compliance of the hardware capabilities of your business with the requirements of DLP systems. You should already understand in advance that the products will have high compatibility rates, which will eliminate system inconsistencies. It is optimal that you can get by with existing hardware capacities, thereby eliminating the need to purchase additional expensive equipment.
• Reliability of the supplier, availability and professionalism of the technical support service. We have already mentioned that at the connection stage, and subsequent management, DLP systems are quite a complex and specific product. Therefore, it is optimal for your supplier to be able to conduct appropriate training and be in touch when you need their help. It would also be a good idea to test the product for free before purchasing it to make sure that this is the option you were looking for.
• Will you be able to ensure the operation of the DLP system by connecting those specialists who are already working in your business. In some cases, it may be necessary to select additional personnel. This means that you will have to expand your staff and spend money to pay for the salaries of new specialists. You can contact consultants so that they can assess the scale of implementation of the DLP system you have chosen in your business. You can also find out in advance whether the supplier will help prepare your staff to work with this product, how much time and money it will require.

We also recommend that you pay attention to the final cost of the DLP system and whether it meets your needs and financial capabilities. At the same time, pay attention to the license validity period.

Summing up

We hope that the information provided has allowed you to assess the prospects of using DLP systems directly for your business. You will be able to integrate it with other tools built into your information security system, ultimately obtaining a truly reliable and secure circuit that can automatically respond to potential threats. In work, it is optimal to do so in order to obtain a single system that will work synchronously, thereby effectively preventing all kinds of incidents. This is the key to creating a truly advanced and high-tech solution, endowed with a number of more than significant advantages:

• Comprehensive control, allowing you to identify not only specific violations, but also all stages of incident development, weak points in your information security system. This is what will allow you not only to quickly eliminate the problem, but also prevent its recurrence.
• All solutions that will be used in your business in the field of information security will be placed on a single platform, which will greatly simplify their subsequent use.
• Integrated systems can be easily synchronized, automated work with them, management. This is what will reduce the workload of specialists, save their time and effort.

But again, we repeat that it is very important to choose the right supplier here, as well as make all the settings as correctly as possible. This way you can minimize the risks of using DLP systems in practice.

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