What is data leakage?
Data leakage refers to the unauthorized transfer of data from within an organization to an unintended, external recipient. While data is often leaked through digital mediums, physical forms of information or documents can also be leaked. Data leaks can come in different forms and can range from simple emails sent to wrong recipients to more sophisticated, malicious cyberattacks. While data leaks can lead to direct monetary losses for organizations, it’s often the downstream effects from reputational damage that hurt organizations the most. As cyberattacks continue to evolve, and as the number of daily cyberattacks hits an all-time high, companies of all sizes should take action to improve their cybersecurity protocols.
Types of data leakage
It’s important for IT and security professionals to understand the different types of data leaks and how to mitigate risk.
Data leakage types include:
- Accidental Data Leaks: Did you know accidental data leaks are the most common type of data leakage? Accidental data leaks occur when a user within an organization unknowingly sends sensitive information to unintended users. A common example of an accidental data leak can be an email sent to the wrong recipient due to auto populated fields.
- Malicious Internal User Data Leaks: This type of data leak is often referred to as data exfiltration. In this data leak example, ill-intentioned employees steal sensitive information either as a vengeful tactic, or for compensation from cybercriminals. Common practices for stealing information and taking it outside of the organization include taking confidential documents, capturing pictures of sensitive information, or removing USB drives.
- Malicious Electronic Data Leaks: Email remains the number one attack vector for cybercriminals. However, companies no longer rely solely on email as their main collaboration platform. It’s also common practice for employees to utilize internet applications and instant messaging platforms to collaborate in addition to email. Malicious electronic data leaks occur when cybercriminals target users with malware through one of the aforementioned digital mediums. Sophisticated impersonation cyberattacks are common, effective methods of malware delivery. These types of cyberattacks, include tactics such as phishing and spoofing which trick users into clicking malicious links or attachments and can trick users into sending sensitive information.
How to prevent data leakage
To effectively prevent data leakage, organizations need to adopt a multi-layered approach that combines technology, processes, and employee training. Here are some key strategies:
- Implement Data Leakage Prevention (DLP) Tools: Deploying DLP software helps monitor and control the data that employees can transfer outside the organization. DLP tools can de-tect sensitive information in emails, attachments, and other file transfers, and can block or quarantine them if they violate company policies.
- Encrypt Sensitive Data: Encryption ensures that even if data is intercepted or accessed without authorization, it cannot be read without the decryption key. Apply encryption to data at rest and in transit to protect against data leakage.
- Educate Employees: Regular training sessions can help employees understand the im-portance of data security and recognize potential threats. Phishing simulation exercises can also help employees identify and avoid malicious emails.
- Establish Clear Policies: Develop and enforce comprehensive data protection policies. En-sure employees are aware of the protocols for handling sensitive information and the con-sequences of non-compliance.
- Monitor Network Activity: Use advanced monitoring tools to track network traffic and iden-tify unusual patterns that could indicate a data leak. Implementing intrusion detection sys-tems (IDS) and intrusion prevention systems (IPS) can further enhance security.
- Restrict Access to Sensitive Data: Apply the principle of least privilege, granting employees access only to the data they need to perform their job functions. Regularly review and up-date access controls to minimize the risk of data leakage.
What causes data leakage?
Several factors can contribute to data leakage, and understanding these can help organizations take proactive measures to mitigate risks. Common causes include:
- Human Error: Simple mistakes, such as sending an email to the wrong recipient or accidentally attaching the wrong file, are among the most common causes of data leaks. Regular training and awareness programs can help reduce these errors.
- Insider Threats: Employees, contractors, or partners with access to sensitive information can intentionally or unintentionally cause data leaks. Implementing strict access controls and monitoring user activity can help mitigate this risk.
- Cyberattacks: Hackers often exploit vulnerabilities in an organization's security infrastructure to steal sen-sitive data. Regularly updating software, applying security patches, and using robust cyber-security measures can help protect against these threats.
- Weak Passwords: Poor password practices, such as using easily guessable passwords or re-using the same password across multiple accounts, can lead to unauthorized access and da-ta leakage. Encourage the use of strong, unique passwords and implement multi-factor au-thentication (MFA).
- Unsecured Devices: Mobile devices, laptops, and USB drives can be lost or stolen, leading to data leakage if they contain sensitive information. Enforce strict security policies for device usage, including encryption and remote wipe capabilities.
- Third-Party Vendors: External vendors with access to your network or data can pose a sig-nificant risk if they lack proper security measures. Conduct thorough security assessments of third-party vendors and include data protection clauses in contracts.
Do you need a data leakage prevention system?
When you want to stop sensitive information from leaving your company through accidental or malicious leaks, a data leakage prevention system is a must.
Your financial data, customer lists, intellectual property and future business plans are among your most valuable information assets. When sensitive material like this is exposed via inadvertent or purposeful leaks, the damage can be significant. Fines and legal fees are only the beginning – the adverse effect on customer trust, business relationships and corporate competitiveness can be devastating.
To protect your critical information, a data leakage prevention system must focus on email. Email has become the center of business communication, making it the primary source for data leaks. The right data leak prevention software should allow you to examine all outbound email for potential leaks, and block or hold any emails that violate your data loss prevention (DLP) policies.
In addition to stopping leaks, your data leakage prevention system must be easy-to-use, or you risk adding additional burden to IT teams already struggling with multiple priorities. And your data loss prevention software must be powerful enough to address potential leaks across all locations and departments, but flexible enough to adapt to your particular industry and DLP needs.
Protect your organization with superior data leak prevention
As organizations store more critical business knowledge in digital form, data leak prevention (DLP) becomes an essential security tool. When intellectual property, customer data or sensitive information like employee personnel files are purposely or unintentionally leaked, the damage can be irreparable. Data leakage can cause customers to lose confidence and business deals to go bad, in addition to fines, legal action and reputation damage.
But data leak prevention is no easy matter. Monitoring the vast amounts of information that flow through the organization is a challenge; stopping or quarantining content based on complex security rules and user roles is even more difficult. And while risk and compliance personnel may push for the strict data leak prevention measures, these controls should not be so rigid that they stifle productivity by preventing authorized users from quickly and easily accessing data they need.
As a leading provider of essential cloud services for email management, Mimecast offers a centrally managed DLP security solution for protection against accidental and malicious leaks of data via email.
Data leakage prevention from Mimecast
Mimecast Content Control and Data Leak Prevention is part of Mimecast’s comprehensive suite of cloud-based solutions for managing email more effectively and securely. Mimecast’s data loss prevention solution scans all email and file attachments and identifies potential leaks using flexible policies based on keywords, file hashes, pattern matching and dictionaries. Emails containing suspected leaks may be blocked, quarantined for review or sent via Mimecast’s Secure Messaging portal.
Because any aspect of an email may contain sensitive information, Mimecast scans headers, subject lines, body text, HTML and attachments looking to find text patterns and words as well as inappropriate images. If content triggers a data leak prevention policy, administrators may block the content, hold it pending review, cc it to a group, deliver it securely or add content such as qualifiers or disclaimers.
Data leak protection requires superior tools
Data leak protection (DLP) must be among the top priorities for IT security today. With so much valuable business information shared via email — including product ideas, business plans, customer data and financials — the potential for an accidental or malicious data leak is huge. The impact of a leak can be catastrophic: from fines and legal action to loss of reputation and revenue.
Consequently, risk and compliance teams want to adopt the most stringent data leakage prevention tools in order to protect the organization. The danger is that these data leak protection controls may end up stifling productivity and that the cost of protection outweigh the benefits.
To protect against data leaks, Mimecast provides a superior solution that improves data leak protection without impacting users, while also minimizing cost and simplifying management of DLP network security.
Comprehensive data leak prevention capabilities
With Mimecast Content Control and Data Loss Prevention, organizations can:
- Protect important information with sensitive contact detection of financials, customer lists and personal information using complex weighted dictionaries or multi-part pattern matching.
- Centrally control data leak prevention from a single web-based console, consistently applying policies across all sites, servers and email.
- Apply appropriate data breach prevention security measures for specific users and groups through granular control and flexible content policy management features.
- Use policy-based TLS encryption to guard against eavesdropping when emails are in transit.
Data leakage prevention FAQs
What is the difference between data leak prevention and data loss prevention?
Data leak prevention (DLP) and data loss prevention (also DLP) are terms often used interchangeably, but they have nuanced differences. Data leak prevention primarily focuses on preventing sensitive data from leaving the organization through unauthorized channels, whether intentional or accidental. It involves monitoring and controlling data transfers to ensure compliance with security policies. On the other hand, data loss prevention encompasses a broader range of strategies to protect data from being lost, corrupted, or accessed by unauthorized users. This includes backup and recovery processes, access controls, and encryption to safeguard data integrity and availability.
What is the difference between data leak and data breach?
A data leak refers to the unauthorized transfer of data from within an organization to an unintended external recipient, often due to human error or system vulnerabilities. Data leaks can occur accidentally or maliciously, resulting in the exposure of sensitive information. In contrast, a data breach involves a deliberate and unauthorized intrusion into an organization's data systems by external attackers, typically with the intent to steal or damage data. Data breaches are often more severe as they indicate a successful cyberattack, whereas data leaks may result from internal mishandling or miscommunication.
What types of information can be exposed in a data leak?
Various types of sensitive information can be exposed in a data leak, including but not limited to:
- Personal Identifiable Information (PII): Names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and other personal details.
- Financial Information: Bank account details, credit card numbers, and financial statements.
- Intellectual Property: Trade secrets, patents, proprietary algorithms, and research data.
- Business Information: Customer lists, contracts, business plans, and strategic documents.
- Health Information: Medical records, insurance details, and patient data.
- Credentials: Usernames, passwords, and security tokens.
What is a data leakage prevention policy?
A data leakage prevention policy is a set of guidelines and rules designed to prevent unauthorized access, transfer, or disclosure of sensitive information within an organization. This policy outlines the measures and controls that need to be in place to protect data from leaks, both accidental and malicious. Key components of a data leakage prevention policy include:
- Data Classification: Identifying and categorizing data based on its sensitivity and im-portance.
- Access Controls: Defining who has access to different types of data and under what condi-tions.
- Monitoring and Reporting: Continuously tracking data movement and generating reports on potential risks and incidents.
- Incident Response: Establishing procedures for responding to data leakage incidents, includ-ing containment, investigation, and remediation.
- Training and Awareness: Educating employees about data protection practices and their role in preventing data leaks.
Learn more about Mimecast’s data leak prevention solution and about Mimecast solutions for data loss prevention Office 365 and ransomware protection.