Ultimate Guide to Data Loss Prevention: Tools, Techniques, and Best Practices

Accidental Data Loss

Human beings are fallible. This fallibility can lead to data accidentally leaving organizational control. A report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) found that human error is behind 95% of security breaches.

One common way sensitive data can be leaked is through email misdelivery. The Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) found that 49% of respondents had a data leak due to misdelivery of an email.

Another key area of data loss is through the accidental misuse of access privileges. Companies typically grant their system administrators elevated privileges to enable them to perform system tasks. The DBIR found that 30% of system admins caused an accidental breach due to elevated privileges - the most concerning aspect of this is that these breaches are severe because of the level of access to sensitive areas of a network.

Malicious Insider Threats

Insider threats can originate from both malicious employees and accidental data exposure. Employees are sometimes recruited via the dark web, where they are offered generous payouts for insider access to company systems and data.

Sometimes, employees are recruited by competitors to carry out industrial espionage. Disgruntled and nefarious employees are also potential sources of exposed data. It was an employee at a Brooklyn hospital who accessed medical records and sold them to a third party via WhatsApp for profit.

Phishing

According to research from Comcast, 67% of breaches start with an employee clicking a malicious phishing link in an email. The employee will then be taken to a phishing website where they will be socially engineered (manipulated) into entering sensitive data and/or login credentials. Once submitted, these data are sent to the attacker. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is increasingly bypassed, leading to more successful phishing campaigns. Phishing can lead to ransomware infections and other malware, such as infostealers, both of which can result in data loss.

Ransomware

According to the DBIR report, there has been a 37% increase in ransomware infections. Ransomware encrypts data across a network, making everyday work tasks impossible. However, ransomware attackers usually also steal the data before encrypting it. They then use the data as leverage to extort the ransom. Only 65% of data is recovered after a ransomware attack.

Malware

Stolen credentials, phishing, and system and app vulnerabilities allow attackers to install malware, including keyloggers and infostealers. This data-stealing malware is used to gather sensitive data, including financial information and login credentials, and transmit it directly to a cybercriminal.

Other Cyberattacks

Data loss can result from a variety of cyberattacks, including man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks. During a MitM attack, a cybercriminal intercepts data during communications, for example, when a user sends an email or logs into an app.

SQL Injection (SQLi) attacks are among the OWASP Top 10 security risks. SQLi attackers insert malicious code into a database, allowing them to exfiltrate data. Stolen login credentials are usually available for sale on dark web marketplaces.

Attackers use these stolen credentials to perform credential stuffing attacks, where automation tools are used to test the credentials across multiple online services and apps. If the attackers gain unauthorized access, they can steal personal and sensitive company data.

AI Leaks

Organizations worldwide are incorporating AI into their work processes. The AI continually accesses and is fed data. A report from Thales found that 69% of companies are concerned about the fast-moving GenAI ecosystem, citing it as the "greatest security concern". The potential for AI leaks is now a part of the cybersecurity ecosystem.

Accidental data leaks can occur when employees enter unnecessary sensitive data during prompts. The data may not be encrypted as it is transferred over the network. The problem is exacerbated by the use of Shadow AI, whereby employees use unsanctioned AI chatbots to perform work-related tasks. The general advice is not to include proprietary or confidential information in the training of publicly available LLMs.

Visibility, Data Management, and Classification

You can't protect data if you don't know what you have and where it resides. Some data loss prevention solutions incorporate data visibility tools to ensure that data across an expanded network is controllable. However, applying and enforcing appropriate protections requires data to be classified. Data management tools tag data according to its level of sensitivity. The classification levels can be used to apply appropriate access controls and other security measures.

DLP Tools for Email and Apps

Solutions such as Microsoft Purview unify various tools to provide dedicated data loss prevention. Tools include data governance, data lifecycle management, access control, and reporting. Some dedicated solutions, like EncryptTitan, provide DLP specifically to prevent emails from leaking data in a misdelivery accident. These DLP tools utilize trigger words and phrases, as well as other techniques, to prevent data compromise through outgoing emails.

MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) and Privilege Management

Unauthorized access to networks and databases can lead to data theft and compromise. Using robust MFA and managing user privileges can help reduce the risk of unauthorized access.

API Security

Insecure APIs can leak data or provide unauthorized access to databases. Attackers used an API vulnerability to expose the personal data of around 540 million Facebook users. Measures such as input validation and sanitization, robust identity management, and web application firewalls (WAFs) help protect APIs.

Encryption

An essential ingredient of data protection is to enforce encryption of the data during transit and while in storage.

Security Awareness Training

Understanding the impacts of phishing, social engineering, and accidental data exposure is part of the comprehensive education package offered during security awareness training.

Implement Patch Management

Software and firmware vulnerabilities are part of the attack chain of many cyberattacks. By removing vulnerabilities, a company can reduce the risk that a cyberattack will be successful. Install security patches as soon as they are released. However, patching does not protect against zero-day vulnerabilities that have yet to be fixed.

Dark Web Monitoring

Tools that delve deeply into the dark web can be used to help identify vulnerabilities being discussed on dark web forums. These forums and other spaces are also used to gather intelligence on targeted companies. Dark web monitoring tools, like Sentinex, provide a company with the intelligence to help reduce the chances of a cyberattack from becoming an incident.