Who uses data loss prevention?
Any business that stores or uses sensitive information and/or has to comply with privacy regulations can benefit from DLP software. Many solutions have focused on serving enterprises’ needs.
Data Loss Prevention Software
Top Rated Data Loss Prevention Products
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Data Loss Prevention Software TrustMap
TrustMaps are two-dimensional charts that compare products based on trScore and research frequency by prospective buyers. Products must have 5 or more ratings to appear on this TrustMap.
Data Loss Prevention Software Overview
What is Data Loss Prevention?
Data Loss Protection and Prevention software give enterprises visibility into and control over who accesses and shares their data. DLP solutions aid DLP strategies through pre-established policy controls and detection to track data movement and prevent any unauthorized transfer, sharing, or leaks.
DLP software is used primarily to prevent internal data leaks, also known as the “insider threat.” As policy regulations become more developed and demanding, DLP solutions also help companies maintain privacy compliance. Data loss prevention tools have also expanded from focusing on networks to preventing data loss in cloud-first environments.
Some DLP capabilities are more aggressive than others. For instance, many DLP solutions will automatically encrypt company data, preventing any data leaks from being harmful, and will alert administrators when there is a suspected or proven breach. Other approaches are more intrusive to end-users, such as Zero Trust policies that prevent them from sending data to any non-trusted users in the first place. Many DLP solutions offer both passive and interventionist capabilities that companies can tailor to their needs.
There is an overlap between data loss prevention and backup & disaster recovery tools. Often, the level of control DLP software has over data transfer necessitates a preexisting backup of company data. This backup, usually via a virtual machine, reduces any reliance on endpoints to host sensitive data.
Data Loss Prevention Software Features & Capabilities
Data loss prevention software can differ in the specific feature sets and core capabilities, depending on the scope of the software. Some common DLP capabilities include:
Fingerprinting of document files and document file sources (watermarks, etc.)
Pattern matching capabilities allowing data to be easily and correctly identified even when encrypted.
Monitoring of Internet, e-mail, and instant messaging protocols
Archiving capabilities
Multiple inspection modes, both proxy, and flow-based
Remote device tracing and wiping if lost
User and network behavior analysis
Some data loss prevention solutions focus on specific at-risk environments. The most commonly specialized software areas are:
Email services
Cloud applications
Servers
Beyond standard protections (e.g. firewalls), advanced security may include machine learning or activity-based verification, user activity monitoring, and other methods of detecting and preventing malicious or accidental transmission of secure data.
Data Loss Prevention Solution Comparison
When comparing various DLP solutions, consider these factors:
Predefined policy vs. customized policy development: Data loss prevention software will vary in both the predefined policy library available out-of-the-box and the customizability of DLP policies to fit unique business needs. Compare the extensiveness of policy libraries each DLP product offers, as well as other users’ experiences applying the policies to similar business cases.
Integrations: DLP solutions, particularly traditional DLP, will need to be able to integrate with the company’s existing network stack and applications. Pay particular attention to how well a DLP software can integrate with the business’s database, email service, and web proxy. As cloud-first environments become the norm, also consider how well each product can provide DLP on an endpoint-by-endpoint basis.
Compliance focus vs. sensitive data protection: Data loss prevention vendors will vary in their focus on supporting privacy compliance and extra robust or intrusive data loss mechanisms. The compliance-focused vendors will offer better reporting and auditing support, while data protection-focused software will provide stronger capabilities for inhibiting any unauthorized sensitive data transfers.
Pricing Information
Data loss prevention software is often provided as either on-premise or cloud deployments. Cloud software ranges in price from about $5 per seat to $50 per seat or more, depending on the number of users and the contract term. Enterprise deployments usually start at about 5,000 seats.
Data Loss Prevention Products
(1-25 of 52) Sorted by Most Reviews
Druva inSync
Customer Verified
Top Rated
TRUE
Workforce mobility and the rise of cloud services is an essential part of any business, but it creates a number of challenges for IT. Data spread across devices and cloud services, unpredictable schedules, and varied network connections all complicate efforts to protect and govern…
Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365
Customer Verified
Top Rated
Veeam® Backup for Microsoft Office 365 eliminates the risk of losing access and control over Office 365 data including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business and Microsoft Teams — so that data is always protected and accessible.
DataMotion Secure Email
Customer Verified
Top Rated
DataMotion, headquartered in New Jersey, offers the DataMotion SecureMail Gateway, an email security gateway.
Forcepoint DLP
Top Rated
Forcepoint DLP promises to address human-centric risk by providing visibility and control everywhere your people work and everywhere your data resides. Security teams apply user-risk scoring to focus on the events that matter most and to accelerate compliance with global data regulations.…
Altaro Hyper-V Backup, from Altaro, is a data center backup and disaster recovery solution.
Acronis True Image is Personal Backup Software for all important data on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Facebook.
Trend Micro offers the Smart Protection Suite with XGen, an endpoint security suite including data loss prevention and mobile device protection. The Smart Prtection Endpoint Suite is the basic edition. The Smart Protection Complete Suite also includes a message security gateway for…
Paubox Email Suite
Starting Price $29
Paubox, headquarted in San Francisco, offers their HIPAA compliant encrypted email service, the Paubox Email Suite, which features Encrypted Email, Inbound Security with ExecProtect, and Email DLP under one subscription.
Arcserve Unified Data Protection (UDP) is designed to future-proof infrastructure by delivering data protection and disaster recovery for every type of workload. Backed by heterogeneous, image-based technology that protects to and from any target, the vendor boasts combining enterprise-…
Endpoint Protector by CoSoSys is an all-in-one Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solution for Windows, macOS, and Linux computers, Thin Clients, and Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) platforms. The solution protects from data leaks, theft, and exfiltration, it minimizes the risk of insider threats…
The Digital Guardian Platform from the company company of the same name in Waltham, Massachusetts is a cloud-delivered data protection platform purpose-built to stop data loss by both insiders and outsiders on Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems. Additionally, Digital Guardian…
Mimecast Information Protection is a data loss prevention (DLP) solution including Mimecast Content Control & DLP Services for protection against carelessness or compromised accounts, a secure messaging service with transmission data encryption, and the Mimecast Large File Send Service.…
Trustifi is a cyber security firm featuring solutions delivered on software as a service platform. Trustifi email security products provide both inbound and outbound email security from a single vendor.Trustifi states their key objective is keeping client’s data, reputation, and…
Trend Micro Integrated Data Loss Prevention is a data protection option.
The RSA Data Loss Prevention Suite was discontinued in 2017.
CA Data Protection (formerly CA DataMinder) is a data loss protection option, from CA Technologies that reached end of life (EOL) in 2019 following the Broadcom acquisition.
SQL Virtual Database from Houston-based Idera Software is a data loss protection option.
Trustwave provides data protection and security via SecureTrust Data Loss Prevention.
GTB Inspector, from GTB Technologies in California, is a data loss protection option.
Clearswift Endpoint Data Loss Protection (DLP) solution allows organizations to detect, inspect and secure critical data on endpoints. In one solution, it provides context-aware Data in Use (DIU) policies to control which devices can connect to a corporate network and what information…
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between data loss prevention and data backup?
Data loss prevention is a security function that prevents sensitive data leaks. In contrast, data backup prevents valuable data from being erased, deleted, or lost in hardware crashes.
How does data loss prevention work?
Data loss prevention can work by encrypting company data, establishing policies that automatically prevent data from being sent to various external or untrusted users, and notifying administrators when there is a suspected or definite breach.
Are there open-source data loss prevention solutions?
There are a range of free, open-source DLP solutions. However, they often lack the robustness of paid products, as well as the continued support and updates over time.
How much does data loss prevention software cost?
Software pricing can vary significantly depending on whether the product is on-premise or cloud-based. Cloud-based DLP software pricing can range from $5/seat/month to $50+/seat/month, usually with a minimum number of seats required.