[BreachExchange] Outsmart the bad and safeguard the good

[Audrey McNeil]

http://www.financialexpress.com/article/industry/companies/outsmart-the-bad-and-safeguard-the-good/250925/

Preventing the loss of critical or sensitive data has been an issue for as
long as there has been proprietary information and intellectual property.
But recent developments both in regulatory requirements and in the
evolution of network infrastructures, including BYOD, virtualisation,
sophisticated applications, shadow IT, and cloud environments, make it
imperative that organisations take a new look at how they control and
protect critical
data. Most of the time, data loss is unintentional, attributed to employees
that unknowingly violate security policy or attempt to get around email
based security solutions by using a personal Web-based e-mail, IM, or
online file sharing app to transmit sensitive documents.

Regardless of the method or intent, the consequences of lost or stolen data
can be disastrous for an organisation. Valuable information, such as
intellectual property, blueprints, or trade secrets acquired by a
competitor or sold on the black market can potentially cost an organisation
millions in losses. Classified government information that falls into the
wrong hands can compromise a nation’s safety and security. Data leakage is
often a red flag that signals other compliance violations that can cost an
organisation hefty fines or loss of credit card processing rights.

That’s where data loss prevention (DLP) solutions come into play. DLP is
more than a product, or even set of products. It is a systems-based
solution that needs to be applied across the entire distributed network,
including endpoints, local and distributed networks, data centres, cloud
services, applications, and web and e-mail services in order to prevent end
users from sending sensitive or valuable information to unauthorised users
and devices. An effective DLP strategy can also be a valuable tool for IT
administrators, enabling them to create, refine and enforce policy, gain
broad visibility into data flow, filter data streams on the network, and
protect data at rest, in motion, or in use.

Network infrastructures are entering a period of dramatic transformation.
Customers, employees, contractors, and business partners have an
unprecedented need to access critical business data and network resources.
The number and kinds of devices used to access this data are expanding
rapidly, from smartphones, tablets to personal laptops that are
increasingly not controlled by IT. At the same time, critical data is being
stored offsite on a variety of third-party platforms, something known in
the industry as Shadow IT.

In this evolving environment, the traditional perimeter of the data centre,
and the network itself, is fundamentally changing. Users expect to be able
to access any information, from any location, at any time, using any
device. The result is that the corporate network is expanding to include
web and cloud-based access.

Securing data in this environment can be a complex process because that
data no longer simply exists behind the iron doors of the data centre. The
flow of data transactions into and out of the data centre, between data
centres, or that is used and stored on a wide variety of devices is
increasing at a dramatic pace. During this process, the nature of the data
changes, and comprehensive data loss security strategies need to address
these different states.

Add to this complexity the dramatic rise in regulatory requirements.
Increasing numbers of regulations have been imposed by government or
industry, or even self-imposed as best practice standards or legal defense
hedges. Most regulatory compliance mandates are focused around the need to
protect data – from personal information related to customers, patients or
clients, to protecting sensitive or secret information from falling into
the wrong hands. This means that existing data security practices and
policies need to be reviewed and updated on a regular basis, especially as
the environment within which this data exists continues to undergo
significant transformation.

The common security thread across all of these changes is the need to
protect and preserve critical, sensitive, or confidential data in the midst
of a rapidly expanding environment where traditional security solutions are
less and less relevant. The profile of high-tech criminals has changed from
one of vandals and mischief-makers to organised criminals who exploit
weaknesses in your security strategy to steal data for profit. Securing
data against these criminals, both outside of and inside your organisation,
requires implementing a security strategy across the entire breadth of the
environments within which your data may exist.

It is important to remember that data loss prevention is achieved through
the coordination of many different components. The first, and most
essential, is a strong policy and governance strategy. Utilising the
resources of an expert is essential in creating a comprehensive strategy
that not only secures your data, but which can also withstand scrutiny from
compliance regulators.

After a policy is in place, it is essential to design a network that is
able to discover, analyse, and secure data. This can be achieved through a
combination of specific data management and control tools, content-aware
security devices and solutions, and the ability to leverage the devices,
intelligence, and services that already exist in your network. Utilising
the services of data loss prevention IT experts can help you design and
implement a secure architecture that meets both your data policy and
governance requirements as well as any external regulatory mandates.

An effective data loss prevention strategy needs to address such areas as
data management solutions, perimeter control, network segmentation and
security zones, access control, identity of both users and devices,
connectivity and VPN, data encryption, mobile devices, cloud services,
content control such as web and email, application management and content
inspection, and secure storage.

It is also important to understand what your existing data loss prevention
strategy can and can’t do. Many attacks seek to compromise new technologies
that have often been adopted and implemented without a data loss strategy
being implemented. Others, like advanced persistent threats, are designed
to operate below the radar of most security solutions, often carving data
up into unrecognisable chunks to be reassembled later.

An effective data loss prevention strategy, therefore, needs to participate
an active lifecycle security strategy, which includes: Preparation and
planning as new network technologies, strategies and devices are being
considered; designing and implementing collaborative and adaptive security
as an integral part of your network architecture; continuous assessment and
automated response to threats as they occur; the implementation of forensic
tools that allow you to immediately trace an event to its source, identify
bad actors or compromised devices inside your network, and optimise your
environment to prevent future breaches.
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