IT

Best Data Loss Prevention Software

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Data loss prevention software reduces the likelihood of data breaches, data exfiltration, and unauthorized access. We’ve spent over a dozen hours researching the best providers in this space. You will discover the steps you need to make the best decision possible for you. We recommend McAfee as the best for most users. Their software is reliable and built specifically for you to recognize data leaks.

Best Data Loss Prevention Software For Most

McAfee Logo

McAfee

Best For Most

McAfee Total Protection approaches DLP in a way that prioritizes extremely sensitive data over general, inconsequential data to protect the most important information first. It’s an extremely sophisticated software built for experienced users, with built-in advanced forensic analysis capabilities to help you identify data leak sources. It’s built to cover your network, endpoints, and cloud space for entire business coverage.

McAfee’s Total Protection for DLP is a tool that has been protecting multi-million dollar networks for decades. You’re getting your hands on software that improves your business instantly with Fort Knox-level security.

Users find the structure sophisticated but easy to use. And it’s built with advanced forensic analysis, so you can dig deep into how to can protect your data even further with clear figures. All your endpoints are covered and the team at McAfee makes it easy to understand even if you’re not a tech wizard.

The Best Data Loss Prevention Software Options to Consider: 

  1. McAfee Total Protection for Data Loss Prevention — Best for most
  2. SecureTrust Data Loss Prevention — Best for businesses with minimal DLP experience
  3. Check Point Data Loss Prevention — Best for automating user access policy enforcement
  4. SolarWinds Data Loss Prevention with ARM — Best for service providers and consumers
  5. Endpoint Protector by CoSoSys — Most versatile DLP tool

When It Makes Sense to Invest in the Best Data Loss Prevention Software

Cybercriminals target data that is valuable to them. And if you’re not careful you can be an easy target. Which is why you must protect it at all costs.

If you leave your data unprotected, it’s obvious (and easy) for hackers to break through your network security. Making your information hard to steal is imperative for every business, especially those who work with sensitive data.

Going back to our jewelry shop example, imagine you’ve bolted down the jewelry in the cases and have attached explosive ink tags to them. You’ve also shifted your jewelry in an overnight safe.

The likelihood of a thief getting to your stock is much lower.

Data loss prevention software is similar to these extra security measures to protect your critical data from cybercriminals. It ensures the safety of your data by identifying threats and preventing breaches.

Wondering if it’s still worth the investment? Here are a few situations where investing in the software makes perfect sense:

Situation 1: When You Have Sensitive Information

From hotels to mobile service providers to government bodies, every industry has sensitive data with varying criticality degrees.

Back in 2016, Marriott International acquired a hotel chain called Starwood. Neither party was aware that Starwood had been breached in 2014, with the attacker remaining in the system even after the merger. What makes it even more shocking is the breach wasn’t discovered until four years later, in 2018. 

Both companies have critical information about their clients ranging from personal contact information to payment details, along with other data they would prefer to keep out of the public eye.

If Marriott had implemented effective DLP software, the company could’ve detected and purged the breach much sooner using various preventive and investigative procedures. 

Therefore, DLP is definitely necessary to protect your, your business, and your client’s data.

Situation 2: When There Are Several Governmental Regulations for Compliance

Data breaches and data leaks are growing steadily today, which is why the government has launched various data protection policies to protect its citizens.

While these policies and regulations certainly do an excellent job in the customer’s interest, it also makes things difficult for companies.

Business owners have to ensure their company complies with data protection laws, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and several others that require reports from companies proving they comply with regulations. 

If a company is found non-compliant, they face the risk of paying hefty fines that can severely impact their financial standing.

DLP software helps companies comply with governmental regulations by informing them about the laws to ensure compliance is as easy as possible.

Situation 3: When You Have Too Many Employees

Enterprise-level organizations have hundreds (if not thousands) of employees, increasing the probability of human error.

Employees can leave critical data exposed without even realizing it. But this unintentional mistake can leave your company’s critical data vulnerable to unauthorized access, costing you dearly.

Investing in a DLP solution minimizes human error since they’re configured based on your policies. In turn, it prevents mistakes and even generates alerts and reports in case of errors.

Moreover, having lots of sensitive data is always a high-risk situation. Rival organizations may try to bribe your employees to get your sensitive data. Although an extreme scenario, it’s also possible for employees to steal and sell your data to the highest bidder. 

Having a DLP strategy discourages your employees from turning into malicious insider threats.

#1 – McAfee – Best For Most

McAfee Logo

McAfee

Best For Most

McAfee Total Protection approaches DLP in a way that prioritizes extremely sensitive data over general, inconsequential data to protect the most important information first. It’s an extremely sophisticated software built for experienced users, with built-in advanced forensic analysis capabilities to help you identify data leak sources. It’s built to cover your network, endpoints, and cloud space for entire business coverage.

While most DLP tools treat all sensitive data in the same way, McAfee Total Protection for DLP adopts a different approach. It identifies and prioritizes your more sensitive data over general or inconsequential data.

McAfee Total Protection is a highly scalable option that can be customized according to your company’s needs. Its biggest stand out feature, though, is its forensic analysis. The system can identify the source of data leaks that may have taken place in the absence of compliance rules and regulations, making it a great option for organizations that don’t have corporate rules.

McAfee offers a comprehensive data loss prevention solution in one suite, along with data protection on your network, in the cloud, and at the endpoints. It has an intelligent system that can simplify formulating and implementing data protection strategies and location and application tagging.

The only downside is that McAfee isn’t very beginner-friendly. We would recommend this for you only if your company has implemented a DLP strategy before.

Some of the best features of McAfee Total Protection for DLP are:

  • Capture technology for greater data visibility 
  • Stronger data classification
  • Easy remediation of policy violations
  • Centralized incident management and reporting
  • Simplify policy deployment and management

Pricing information available on request. That said, McAfee does offer a free demo on their website.

#2 – SecureTrust – Best for Businesses With Minimal DLP Experience

SecureTrust Logo

SecureTrust

Best for Data Loss Beginners

If you’re new to the world of data loss prevention, you may feel overwhelmed at the slew of features, promises, and capabilities that come with the software. However, SecureTrust is an excellent place to start because it delivers pre-configured policies designed to identify suspicious behavior from day one. There are more than 70 predefined policy settings you can turn on or off based on what you need.

SecureTrust’s DLP solution comes with all the necessary tools to help companies discover, monitor, and secure their data while ensuring compliance with internal and external regulations.

It’s an excellent option for companies with little to no experience implementing DLP security strategies or those who want pre-configured policies to identify suspicious behavior or violations.

SecureTrust DLP has over 70 predefined risk and policy settings. You only need to turn the tool on or off based on your business needs, and you can use it immediately. The configurable dashboard allows you to see your data’s exact location and choose the protection mechanisms you want to safeguard it.

That said, it may not be the best solution for businesses looking for a more customized solution, as they’ll have to sort through all the pre-existing settings, which can get frustrating and time-consuming.

What’s more, SecureTrust will analyze and monitor all web-based documents and attachments your business receives, including emails, social media posts, and blogs. If it does detect any violation, the system will block it automatically, keeping your data safe. 

Key features of SecureTrust DLP include: 

  • Intelligent Content Control Engine
  • Automatic blocking of HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP traffic that violates compliance policies
  • Advanced Content Control
  • Real-time identity match
  • Investigation management

You’ll have to request a quote directly from SecureTrust as they do not publicly post pricing information. 

#3 – SolarWinds – Best for Automating User Access Policy Enforcement

SolarWinds Logo

SolarWinds

Best for User Access Automation

SolarWinds is an industry leader in IT infrastructure monitoring tools, one of which is a DLP solution with a built-in access rights manager. It’s designed to help administrators track and monitor access permissions to enhance data security and data loss prevention practices. With it, you can easily identify suspicious behavior across multiple channels with ease. Plus, it’s GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS compliant.

One of the leading names in the IT infrastructure monitoring tools niche, SolarWinds has launched its own DLP security solution as part of its Access Rights Manager (ARM). The company describes ARM as “security simplified,” and that’s exactly what it does. 

The tool is designed for system administrators who want to track their current access permissions. It can also help companies comply with regulatory requirements, such as GDPR, PCI-DSS, and HIPAA. 

The very first thing as part of your strategy is to draft and enforce a company policy on data access control. SolarWinds supports these tasks and gives you customized reports on your current access permissions. 

You get a comprehensive view of all inherited permissions linked to a specific object in a flowchart form that can then be used to set better controls. You can implement the modified controls through the ARM.

Also, SolarWinds Data Loss Prevention with ARM helps identify users who behave suspiciously across multiple communication channels thanks to its thorough monitoring for OneDrive, Windows file share, Active Directory, Microsoft Exchange, and SharePoint. There’s a constant check on data access, with alerts automatically generated whenever copies are made or data is transferred. You receive a visualization of who has access to what and the times they’ve accessed it.

Key features of SolarWinds Data Loss Prevention include:

  • Access rights manager (ARM)
  • Auditing for data protection standards compliance
  • Automated responses
  • Alerts and notifications on data transfer or copies
  • Identifies any suspicious activity

Pricing information available on request. They offer a 30-day free trial that can be installed on Windows from their website.

#4 – Check Point – Best for Service Providers and Consumers

Check Point Logo

Check Point DLP

Best for Service Providers and Consumers

Check Point is an industry-leading cybersecurity provider that offers intuitive DLP software to prevent data leaks and accidental data forwarding. The company strongly focuses on educating its users with best practices to equip them with what they need to further help prevent data loss incidents in the future. You can easily set up automated risk notifications, track events, and mitigate risks in real time.

A well-renowned name, Check Point is one of the largest cybersecurity providers in the world. 

The software is an easy-to-use DLP solution that combines a variety of different processes to prevent data leaks or accidental forwarding to the wrong person.

We also like how Check Point educates users about the risks of data loss and provides them with solutions to avoid such incidents. This is made possible because of its data tracking facility across platforms like web browsing, email, and file sharing.

Moreover, the tool issues a warning directly to the user whenever they risk exposing data instead of alerting the IT department staff. Not only does it save time, but it also makes the user aware of where they are going wrong when handling data.

This DLP software is an excellent choice for those who don’t have the time or technical knowledge to create new data loss prevention rules. The centralized management console and pre-configured rules come in handy to reduce the complexity of the whole process.

Some of Check Point’s features are:

  • DLP event tracking
  • Full visibility and control over critical data
  • Real-time mitigation of incidents
  • Scanning and securing SSL/TLS in cryptic traffic that passes through a gateway
  • Easy deployment and management

Pricing information available on request. Check out the free online demo to test the software’s features.

#5 – Endpoint Protector by CoSoSys – Most Versatile DLP Tool

Endpoint Protector Logo

Endpoint Protector

Most Versatile DLP

If you need highly flexible and versatile data loss prevention software, Endpoint Protector is an excellent choice. Its use cases span a massive range of industries with an advanced multi-OS process that ensures data compliance every step of the way. It’s available as an on-premise, cloud-based, or standalone software deployment depending on your needs.

The Endpoint Protector by CoSoSys is a very versatile data loss prevention platform, offering solutions for industries like education, healthcare, finance, media, manufacturing, and more. It’s suitable for small and large businesses and can help them discover, monitor, and protect their sensitive data.

Endpoint Protector uses an advanced multi-OS technique that ensures regulatory compliance at all points. You can use it as an on-site solution (it protects computers running on Mac OS, Windows, and Linux), a cloud-based service, or a standalone software package.

A central Endpoint Protector server appliance communicates across the network with the client software installed on every endpoint. It also protects attached devices like digital cameras and USB sticks. You can use Endpoint Protector for performing content inspection and contextual data scanning for these removable devices and applications like Outlook, Skype, and Dropbox, among others.

Some of the main features of Endpoint Protector are:

  • Enforced encryption
  • HIPAA, GDPR, PCI-DSS compliant
  • Can be used as an appliance, cloud-based service, or on-premises software
  • Mobile device management
  • Extends protection to attached removable devices

Pricing information for Endpoint Protector by CoSoSys is available on request. 

Methodology for Choosing the Best Data Loss Prevention Software

Most DLP solutions protect sensitive information, but their focus and how they accomplish it vary. Here we are sharing the methodology we used to create this guide. You must think about the features that would be most valuable based on your business’s needs and data security threats.

Here are the factors we considered and questions for you to contemplate before investing in a specific data loss prevention software. 

What Type of Data Do You Want to Protect?

There are different kinds of data requiring different levels of protection. This is why you need to really understand your data, where it resides, how and where it’s used, and who uses it.

Your chosen DLP solution should have the necessary features to automatically discover and classify your data across a network from device to cloud. The aim here is to make your data more visible to you, including where your data goes, who has access to it, and how they’re using it.

This will help you better understand the kind of protection you want or need and identify any security gaps.

What Protocols Will You Need and Where?

Data loss and leaks can take place through intentional malicious actions or unintentional mistakes. You should understand the kind of protocols a DLP solution has for analyzing and preventing these circumstances. 

For instance, ask yourself whether the tool can control USB ports to prevent the unauthorized downloading of data onto a thumb drive or restrict a user from downloading certain applications onto specific devices.

Try to look for a solution that allows you to enforce policies for information that leaves your network across a wide range of protocols. From email to instant messaging to blogs to FTP to webmail–the more relevant channels it can analyze, the better.

What Do You Need To Deploy and Manage the DLP Solution?

Some DLP solutions require lengthy and complex deployment that has to be done by someone who has highly specialized skills to build, tweak, and fine-tune the software according to your requirements.

But it’s not always possible to wait for months to implement your data protection solution. After all, hackers aren’t going to ask for permission or wait before targeting your company.

Find out the deployment timeframe for every DLP software option during the vetting process. You must also know the ongoing operational resources you’ll need to manage the solution. How easy it is to make policy changes, what kind of training your team and end-users need to use the software, and whether the software meets your specific needs are all crucial considerations.

McAfee Logo

McAfee

Best For Most

McAfee Total Protection approaches DLP in a way that prioritizes extremely sensitive data over general, inconsequential data to protect the most important information first. It’s an extremely sophisticated software built for experienced users, with built-in advanced forensic analysis capabilities to help you identify data leak sources. It’s built to cover your network, endpoints, and cloud space for entire business coverage.

Summary

Data loss and leaks are every company’s worst nightmare. 

If you want to avoid these undesirable situations, you should invest in data loss prevention software right away.

We think McAfee’s Total Protection for DLP is the best option for most. It’s a recognizable name in the infosec space and comes with advanced features that let you rest easy, knowing that the gate to your sensitive data is properly locked.

Whether you find a solution in our guide that suits you or not, you can always use our methodology to vet your options if you’re considering other providers. 


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