As businesses navigate the complexities of modern-day cybersecurity initiatives, data loss prevention (DLP) software is the frontline defense against potential data breaches and exfiltration. DLP solutions allow organizations to detect, react to and prevent data leakage or misuse of sensitive information that can lead to catastrophic consequences.

However, while DLP solutions play a critical role in cybersecurity, their effectiveness significantly improves when integrated with the right tools and infrastructure.

Key limitations of DLP solutions (and how to overcome them)

DLP solutions are invaluable tools in the fight against data breaches, providing a frontline defense that monitors, detects and blocks sensitive data across various platforms. But despite their significant contributions to data security, they do have limitations that can hamper their effectiveness. By keeping the following limitations in mind, you can ensure your organization remains well-protected.

1. The high-maintenance nature of DLP

One of the primary challenges is the high-maintenance nature of DLP solutions. These tools often require extensive upkeep, tuning and supervision, which can be resource-intensive. Regular updates and configurations are necessary to keep the systems up-to-date and effective, leading to a significant allocation of time and effort from your IT team.

2. Partial data discovery

Another limitation relates to data discovery. Traditional DLP solutions often deliver only partial discovery data. This means they may not capture all instances of sensitive data, leaving potential vulnerabilities unaddressed. This partial visibility can result in gaps in your data protection strategy, making breaches easier.

3. Lack of lineage and accurate tracking

DLP solutions also often lack lineage, transaction analysis and accurate data tracking in motion. The absence of these features results in an incomplete picture of your data’s journey. This lack of a holistic approach to data security leads to inadequate enforcement of overly restrictive policies, numerous false positives and poor user experience. Without full visibility and understanding of how data moves within and outside of your organization, it becomes challenging to implement effective data protection measures.

4. Struggling with the shift to cloud

The move towards cloud computing has also posed a new challenge for DLP solutions. As businesses increasingly migrate their data storage and operations to the cloud, the number of locations where copies of sensitive data exist has exponentially increased. Unfortunately, traditional DLP solutions cannot keep up with this shift, often struggling to maintain comprehensive coverage across an ever-expanding digital landscape.

Benefits of integrating DLP with data security tools

Integrating DLP solutions with additional data security tools can significantly improve your organization’s data protection strategy. This combination offers several key benefits that address the limitations of standalone DLP solutions, enhancing their effectiveness and efficiency.

1. Enhanced data protection

You can achieve a more comprehensive and robust data protection framework by integrating DLP with data security tools. These additional tools can fill the gaps left by DLP solutions, ensuring that all sensitive data is adequately protected. For instance, data security tools can provide full discovery data, enabling your organization to locate and protect all instances of sensitive information.

2. Comprehensive data discovery and tracking

Data security tools can provide the lineage tracking, transaction analysis and data tracking tools that DLP solutions alone may lack. These features provide a holistic view of your data’s journey, allowing for better understanding and control over how data moves within and outside your organization. This comprehensive visibility significantly reduces the risk of data breaches.

3. Reduced maintenance and resource allocation

Data security tools can automate many tasks associated with maintaining DLP solutions. This automation reduces the manual effort required, freeing up resources that can be better used elsewhere. In addition, these tools can also enhance the efficiency of your DLP solution, reducing false positives and minimizing the enforcement of overly restrictive policies.

4. Improved adaptability to cloud migration

With most organizations transitioning their operations to the cloud, it is crucial for data security tools to adapt to this change. These tools are engineered to function efficiently in cloud settings, guaranteeing that confidential data is safeguarded irrespective of location. By incorporating these tools into your DLP solution, you can facilitate a smooth migration to the cloud without jeopardizing data security.

Get the most out of your data loss prevention solution

While DLP solutions can provide excellent protection against data loss, they must be augmented with the right data security tools to maximize their effectiveness. By integrating these tools into your DLP solution, you can reduce resource allocation and maintenance and improve the adaptability and visibility of your sensitive information.

IBM Security Discover and Classify is the leading solution for effectively discovering and classifying sensitive data at scale, whether at rest or in motion. Seamlessly extending traditional DLP solutions, IBM Security Discover and Classify provides a comprehensive set of flexible tools that complement and leverage DLP capabilities. This holistic solution meets all data loss prevention needs and enables seamless discovery, analysis, lineage and more.

Integrating IBM Security Discover and Classify with a DLP solution can extend data loss prevention capabilities and save valuable time. With the ability to identify sensitive data, label it accurately and respond quickly to threats, you can maintain secure operations with minimal disruption. This leads to an improved security posture and greater efficiency in responding to data loss events.