Protecting client data from hackers is a big challenge stood in front of the security service providers. The loss of sensitive and confidential information of an enterprise will lead to significant financial loses and also damages the brand image if the data is misused. Thus, data protection has become a hot area across all enterprises irrespective of size. Continuous content inspection and contextual analysis of data have to be done by security providers for mitigating the risk of sensitive information leakage. Among multiple information security solutions, Data Loss Prevention (DLP) techniques, Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Potential Data Encryption Techniques are gaining popularity across the information security industry.
How can DLP Solutions Mitigate the Risk of Data Loss and Data Leak?DLP solutions are primarily engaged in identifying, monitoring and protecting data in use and data in motion across the network. In addition, these solutions are also used to protect the data at rest in on-premises file servers or data stored in cloud applications and cloud storage. By conducting thorough data inspection and background security analysis of each and every data transaction, DLP systems play a prominent role in implementing information/data security strategies. DLP solutions are primarily engaged in identifying, monitoring and protecting data in use and data in motion across the network. In addition, these solutions are also used to protect the data at rest in on-premises file servers or data stored in cloud applications and cloud storage. By conducting thorough data inspection and background security analysis of each and every data transaction, DLP systems play a prominent role in implementing information/data security strategies. Generally, DLP solutions are broadly segmented into two categories including Enterprise DLP solutions and Integrated DLP solutions. Enterprise DLP technologies are like agent software for desktops and servers, physical applications and virtual appliances to monitor network traffic and email traffic. On the Integrated DLP solutions front, these are used for securing web gateways, email gateways, and content management platforms etc.
Why an Organization Has to Deploy DLP Solutions?Sensitive information resides over diversified computing devices like physical and virtual servers, file servers, vast databases, PCs and even mobile devices and transmits through various network access points such as wireless, wired and virtual private networks. It is significant to deploy DLP technologies to prevent the risk of data loss and data leak across such wide information infrastructure.
Few of the types of DLP Solutions for Data Loss and Data Leak:
- Network-based DLP Solutions: These solutions are deployed to protect data while transmission over the internet. Network-based DLP solutions continuously monitor the network traffic for identifying data leakage and data loss. These solutions are generally installed at the Perimeter of an enterprise network. Email traffic, SMS, and employee interactions over social media etc., will be frequently monitored for avoiding data leakage.
- Storage-based DLP Solutions: These solutions are primarily designed to protect the data at rest across the data center infrastructure of an enterprise. Information of data storage and how to protect the stored data, whether it is stored securely or not are all efficiently done by storage-based DLP solutions. The organizations must and should employ these solutions as sensitive information should not reside on insecure platforms.
- Endpoint-based DLP Solutions: These solutions highly focus on monitoring laptops, tablets etc., for avoiding the risk of data loss. These are event-driven solutions, i.e., an agent will be resident on the endpoint and continuously monitors the actions of a specific user. When the user sends emails, prints data, copies files into the system and other data transmission or storing activities will be configured. If it finds any malicious activity, end-point DLP solutions have the capability to block such activities.
Usage of these kinds of varied DLP technologies will shield your organization’s confidential information and not allows hackers to steal your sensitive data.
Alongside DLP, IAM will Play a Significant role in Managing Data Security:The DLP solutions protect the data in use, motion and storage area but the technology will not capture/have any data access information. Here IAM comes into the picture. To obtain access information, several companies turn to IAM. With the availability of high-performance computing resources, intruders are involved in retrieving the most complex user IDs, passwords and doing illegal activities and frauds. IAM systems prevent hackers to access sensitive user information and identity. Accordingly, one of the advantages of implementing IAM is that it helps to achieve regulatory compliance standards.
IAM serves gives identity to each and every working employee of an organization. The server systems authorize and give access rights to that new user to use enterprise systems and applications. access rights will be terminated when the employee leaves the organization. IAM systems also provide the information of accessed data and login details.
IAM solutions often provide access management workflows, reports user rights, reviews application owner rights, and efficient workflow solution to manage access.
Data Encryption Technologies are Vital in Protecting Data:Data Encryption Technologies are used for protecting digital information stored on computer systems and transmitted over the internet/ other networks. While transmitting data from one system to another, encryption technologies convert that data into a binary form or any other code format. So that, only the authorized person can view or read it by entering access credentials. It is one of the conventional and the most popular data security method used by a number of organizations.
The encryption algorithms provide confidentiality and determine significant security initiatives such as authentication and data integrity. Authentication verifies data original source and data integrity checks for consistency of data.
How Data will be Encrypted Using these Encryption Technologies?Initially, when the data is leaving from source, it will be encrypted using an encryption algorithm and provided by an encryption key. Then complete data will be transformed in ciphertext format. Unless and until you enter a correct encryption key, the file will not be decrypted. Thus, encryption algorithms provide high-level security to data.
Major Types of Data Encryption Methods:
- Symmetric encryption method
- Asymmetric encryption method/public-key encryption method
Symmetric-key ciphers use only one secret key for doing both encryption and decryption operations. Symmetric encryption is faster than asymmetric encryption. But, using symmetric encryption methods, the sender should have to exchange the secret key with the receiver before he decrypts the text. As companies have to distribute and manage vast quantities of secret keys, maximum data encryption services have altered and using an asymmetric algorithm to exchange the encryption key.
The advantage of using Asymmetric cryptography/ public-key cryptography is that it uses two separate secret keys including one public and one private. The public key will be shared with everyone, but the private key will be protected. Mostly, the Rivest-Sharmir-Adleman (RSA) algorithm will be used for public-key encryption. The RSA techniques secure sensitive data when the data is transmitting over the internet. Multiple protocols such as SSH, SSL/TLS, OpenPGP and S/MIME depend on asymmetric cryptography for encrypting as well as digital signature functions
Conclusion:Data breaches are increasing with growing data volume. According to the International Data Corporation, the Global DataSphere is anticipated to reach 163 zettabytes by 2025. If this come online, the information systems have to use extremely high-level data protection techniques. DIGINTRUDE’ experienced and professional security analysts provide efficient security services, not only to your information systems, entire organization network will be secured and protected from hackers.