3 Reasons Businesses Are Using Microsoft Data Loss Prevention

Managing data is, for most organizations, a herculean effort. It's estimated that upwards of 80% of corporate data is "dark", i.e. not classified or governed via adequate controls. This becomes a huge problem for companies in highly regulated industries, as unsecured data poses an expensive risk to overall compliance. Data Loss Prevention policies are a necessary step towards organizational compliance, providing a framework and series of rules for data handling. For Microsoft 365 users, your IT team can create and deploy DLP policies within Microsoft's compliance center.

Here Are 3 Reasons to Leverage Microsoft’s Robust Data Loss Prevention Tools:

1. Identify Sensitive Information Across the Office 365 Application Stack

With a DLP policy, you can flag sensitive data in Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Teams. For example, in Teams your organization can:

• Block messages that contain sensitive information
• Educate and guide end-users with notifications and policy tips
• Customize policy and settings in security and compliance center
  
  

These cloud policies can be extended to the desktop versions of Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. When creating a DLP, Microsoft has 100 sensitive data types to choose from and over 40 policy templates for common industry regulations and compliance needs (GDPR, PII, HIPAA, etc.). These policies can be configured across devices, applications, and services in the Microsoft 365 Compliance center.

2. Prevent Accidental Sharing

With a DLP, you don't have to worry about oversharing sensitive content. For example, if an employee tries to send an email outside of your organization, and it contains a document with PII, the email would either be blocked from sending, or access to the document would be denied. When crafting your DLP, your IT staff can determine what internal and external users will see, and justifications for overriding a policy setting. If something is shared out, incident reports will trigger a notification or alert based on severity. Your IT team can then monitor the activity, and chose to enforce restrictions or educate users in-context.

3. Secure Endpoints Running Windows 10

If you're running a hybrid environment, or have a highly distributed workforce, you need a clear view of your data environment. With Microsoft DLP, your IT staff can assign flexible policies to different locations, with unique rules and policy enforcement actions. These protective actions can include encryption, access restrictions, and visual markings. Other endpoint features include:

• Cloud-delivered, lightweight configuration

• Native protection built into Windows 10, Office Apps, Edge

• Automatic document access protections when uploaded to SharePoint Online or OneDrive
  
  

Your IT team can continue to manage policies, examine protection insights, and investigate alerts for greater data ownership. Understand your data landscape, create flexible protections, and automatically retain, delete, and store records in a compliant manner. For more information about implementing Data Loss Prevention solutions, reach out to iCorps for a free consultation.