Prevent Data Loss and Theft by Enforcing Removable Device Usage and Data Encryption Policies

Data Protection Business Drivers and Challenges

In today’s global, 24x7 business environment organizations need real-time access to data - balancing this with the associated risks is key to ensuring data is not lost / stolen and that business productivity is not negatively impacted.

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Driving this data protection challenge are many emerging trends:
  • The borderless enterprise - data is less centralized than ever before due to dis-aggregated supply chains, outsourcing, and a mobile workforce.
  • The consumerization of IT - users are increasingly defining the IT environment by bringing their productivity tools (USB sticks, flash drives, etc.) into work.
  • Increased insider risks - over half of all serious data breach incidents are sparked by insiders , and while many of these are innocent mistakes (i.e. losing a USB stick), this new economy has spawned a new insider¹ threat with 53 percent of insiders admitting they would steal sensitive data if they are suddenly fired².
  • Organized cybercrime - the value of information has driven the rapid expansion of sophisticated organized criminal networks, which supply a black market recently estimated at $276M.

The concern over data loss/theft has spawned a myriad of regulations ranging from global and country to industry-specific and local government. All of these regulations add another layer of risk and failure to comply with regulations like SOX, HIPAA and PCI compliance can result in very real economic damage, both directly in cost and indirectly in terms of lost customers and business.

The cost of non-compliance, or lost/stolen information to an organization is dramatic as lost business accounts for 65 percent of breach costs. The average yearly cost of a data breach has now reached $6.75 million³. When data breaches occur, customers lose trust in an organization and brand equity is reduced.

Overview

When developing your data protection posture in this increasingly difficult environment, it is important to balance the rewards of accessible data (and the collaboration / productivity it enables) with the risks (and costs) of losing your data. The primary component of Lumension Data Protection solution comes in two flavors: the stand-alone Lumension® Device Control version and the new Lumension® Device Control for System Center version. With either, you can:

  • 1. Discover: Unobtrusively survey your entire network to collect information on all devices that are now or have ever been connected to your endpoints; using a “learning” mode allows you to collect the information without disrupting business until you have developed your comprehensive data protection policy.
  • 2. Assess: Use a “whitelisting” approach to set as many overarching rules as possible, with as few exceptions as possible, to define rules at both default and machine-specific levels for groups and individual users; this “whitelisting” approach limits your burden to defining what is allowed instead of trying to keep up with the ever changing list of what is bad.
  • 3. Implement: After getting buy-in from all constituents you can then roll out your new data protection policy enforcement solution; to achieve maximum effectiveness and ensure users are clear on policy, plan to start small, test, monitor and adjust. Enforce USB security and data encryption policies to ensure sensitive information is secured.
  • 4. Monitor: Monitor the effectiveness of device and data management policies in real time and identify potential security threats by logging all device connections, recording all policy changes and administrator activities, and tracking all file transfers by file name and content type. You can even keep a copy of every file that is transferred to or from a removable device using our patented, bi-directional shadowing technology in order to prevent data breaches from impacting your organization.
  • 5. Report: Detailed forensic reports and comprehensive auditing capabilities enable you to demonstrate compliance with internal security policies and external government and industry regulations. Generate a complete audit trail that documents how your device and data management policies prevent unauthorized users and devices from compromising critical business information.
Sources:
  1. Data Monitor, Mitigating the Risks of Data Loss, August 2007
  2. Ponemon Institute, Data Loss Risks During Downsizing, February 23, 2009
  3. Ponemon Institute, 2009 Annual Study: Cost of a Data Breach, February 2010