Focusing on Data Loss Prevention palo Alto

Data loss prevention palo alto: The world of startups has grown steadily over the past decade and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. The prospect of becoming your own boss, owning what you create, and being able to manage your time are appealing advantages that have many people considering entrepreneurship. However, one hidden challenge many people don’t think about is how to protect your growing business from the security risks and common startup mistakes that could cripple your company.

Today, we’ll examine a specific type of security risk to businesses, data loss prevention. It’s a rising issue that can be difficult for startups to manage. Data loss prevention refers to incidents in which people inside or outside an organization gain unauthorized access to sensitive information and subsequently misappropriate it or use it inappropriately.

What is Data Loss Prevention?

Data loss prevention (DLP) can be defined as the process of identifying, detecting, protecting and recovering lost data. It encompasses all aspects of information security that prevent data loss.

One big problem startups face is trying to manage multiple systems and applications. Finding a new solution to this problem is one way startups can start to get more organized.

Unfortunately, companies don’t typically have enough budget to hire a full-time data loss prevention manager with the specialized expertise necessary to ensure successful implementation.

No one can deny the importance of data, especially for startups. Startups depend on data at every step in the process, from determining which markets to enter, to choosing which customers to target, and even when deciding in which cities or countries new offices should be set up.

Data loss prevention is necessary for all industries but it’s especially critical for startups. In 2020, US companies lost an average of $8.64 million to data breaches. While that may seem like a lot of money to lose, the costs don’t stop there. The average data breach carries an average cost of $180 per lost or stolen record, and in total companies suffer an estimated $4.24 million in expenses as a result of each breach.

Causes of Data Leaks

In simple terms, data loss prevention is all about preventing the loss of sensitive information. Since data loss prevention encompasses all aspects of information security that prevent data loss, it deals with things like insider threats and external attacks.

Startups can face several causes of losing data. These include:

• Inadvertent Leaks – This refers to any action on the part of employees that results in an unintentional breach or disclosure of sensitive information.
• Information Theft – This is a type of data loss that results from stealing information found on desktop computers, laptops, servers and other computer systems. Physical Theft – This involves stealing information through the use of tape recorders, video cameras and other methods. 
• Malicious Insider Threats – These are the actions of those who work within an organization but deliberately choose to disregard policies and procedures designed to protect sensitive information.

How to Secure Your Data

There are several steps you should take to keep your data safe. They include:

Data Classification

You should always think about what data a particular record contains. Then assign the appropriate type of classification to the information using whatever system you use. This helps prevent accidental disclosure of information with no real value and serves as a reminder for everyone in the organization that sensitive data is being handled carefully.

DLP Awareness Training

This is an essential step in preventing data loss. Many DLP breaches are the result of an inadvertent action by someone who didn’t know sensitive data shouldn’t be in a particular place because it wasn’t marked as such.

Monitoring Systems

To identify unauthorized access attempts and other threats, you must have a system in place that can monitor your network and computers. The monitoring system should be easy to use and can tell you what events occurred during particular periods. It should also give you information on who accessed data, what they did and if they attempted to send the data off-site.

Lack of Awareness

It’s very easy for data to be lost or accidentally disclosed whenever there isn’t proper awareness around what data is sensitive and what isn’t. At times, information may be stored in places where it shouldn’t be. This can make it difficult for you to catch unauthorized access attempts even when they do occur since you don’t know which information is at risk.

The Takeaway

Data loss prevention, in its simplest form, is all about preventing data loss from happening. However, it’s not just the data that matters; it’s also the people who handle and store it.

To prevent data loss or theft in your startup, you need to provide employees with a clear understanding of what sensitive information they’re handling at work and in their daily work activities. You also need to train them on how to handle data safely so that none of it gets lost or stolen. If you enjoyed reading this article and want to read more like it, visit our blog today!