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Updated: Oct 29, 2023   |   Fergal Glynn

Symantec DLP: What's a better alternative?

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Protecting valuable data resources is a top priority for companies in virtually every business in every industry. Failure to keep sensitive information secure can destroy a company from a financial and reputational perspective. Data loss prevention (DLP) software provides a reliable and automated method of protecting an organization’s data assets.

Symantec DLP is a data protection tool that provides companies with a viable solution for securing their valuable data. We’re going to look at its features and how Next DLP offers a better, human-centric approach to data loss prevention compatible with today’s remote work and work-from-anywhere environments.      

Important features of Symantec DLP

Symantec DLP is a comprehensive data loss prevention solution that helps mitigate data breaches and maintain regulatory compliance. The tool includes data discovery, monitoring, and protective features that provide visibility and control over information resources throughout an organization’s computing environment. Symantec DLP employs a single pane of glass console for policy management, incident response, reporting, and administration.

Symantec DLP is built upon four foundational pillars:

  • Critical data protection that keeps sensitive and confidential data safe from accidental or deliberate data breaches.
  • Visibility and control over data resources at rest and in transit. Symantec DLP monitors data in the cloud, at endpoints, in storage, and when transmitted over the web or via email.
  • A unified policy framework that reduces the complexity of identifying and remediating on-premises and cloud-based incidents.
  • Regulatory compliance promoted with support for global data protection laws and standards.

Symantec DLP’s foundation enables it to address a wide range of use cases for businesses of any size. Following are some of the most beneficial ways companies can use Symantec DLP.

Discovering where data resides

Symantec DLP scans network file shares, endpoints, and any other data repository to provide complete visibility and control over sensitive information. Its content-aware detection technologies reduce false positives and false negatives for enhanced protection. The data classification techniques employed by the tool include:

  • Exact data matching
  • Indexed document matching
  • Described content matching
  • File-type detection
  • Sensitive imagery recognition

Monitoring data movement and usage across the environment

Symantec DLP provides information regarding the use and movement of sensitive information. The tool delivers insight into who is using data resources, scanning everything from laptops to cloud applications such as Office 365 and Salesforce to offer full visibility into how data is used in a company’s infrastructure. Specific aspects of Symantec’s monitoring capabilities include:

  • Local scanning, detection, and real-time monitoring
  • Monitoring of sensitive data being transmitted or copied
  • Inspection of corporate emails for confidential data
  • User notification of anomalies with pop-up windows that block forbidden actions

Preventing data leakage

With Symantec DLP, companies can prevent data leakage from malicious insiders or cybercriminals. Enforcing a single set of data protection policies keeps sensitive data from being leaked or stolen. The tool also protects against configuration errors made by inexperienced cloud users. It provides real-time data blocking, quarantining, and monitoring of risky behavior.

Remediating incidents

Symantec DLP provides multiple features that enhance automated incident response procedures. These features include:

  • The ability to perform User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) to assign a risk score for individuals and specific behaviors
  • Integration with ServiceNow to streamline issue resolution
  • Routing emails to encryption gateways
  • Encryption and digital rights enforcement for files transferred to USB devices
  • The capability to redirect or block messages based on their attributes or sensitive content

Meeting regulatory requirements

Maintaining compliance with regulatory standards like HIPAA and GDPR is an essential feature of a DLP solution. Symantec DLP promotes compliance by:

  • Identifying sensitive information through predefined policy templates and data identifiers
  • Monitoring for policy violations and enforcing data protection policies to control where sensitive data is used and stored

Next DLP: what's in a better data loss prevention solution? 

Legacy data loss prevention was a complex task that required all sensitive data to be pre-classified. Data was controlled on corporate networks and systems. Reaching the desired level of data protection typically required months or years and implementing the solution was a burden on employees.

Next DLP offers a data loss prevention solution that provides a modern, human-centric approach to data loss prevention. It implements real-time data classification on-the-fly that addresses all data resources at rest and in transit. In addition to content-based classification, Next DLP provides context-based classification that can determine data sensitivity by who created it or from what application the information was generated.

Next DLP’s Reveal is a cloud-native solution that is easy to purchase, install and use effectively. It offers DLP functionality straight out of the box incorporating machine learning and smart remediation that works even when endpoints are disconnected from the network, a must for today’s work-from-anywhere climate. The tool’s lightweight agent doesn’t hinder productivity or slow down your employees’ computers and is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux machines.

Built-in and customizable data protection policies let your company start protecting its valuable resources right away. The tool’s reporting capabilities identify careless and malicious activity related to sensitive data so modifications can be made to security controls. Next DLP also provides incident-based user training when a policy violation is detected to inform employees of their mistakes and to improve data security throughout the organization.

Other DLP Tool Alternatives:

Book a demo with the Next DLP team today and find out how easy it is to protect your valuable data with this innovative approach to data loss prevention.

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See how Next protects your employees and prevents data loss