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DLP vs. DSPM: What's the difference?

By Ravi Das

Data is the lifeblood of any business; protecting it is the top priority for CISOs. Two leading data security technologies are data loss prevention and data security posture management.

While DLP and DSPM both aim to secure data, they have different approaches. In a nutshell, DLP's job is to stop data from leaving an organization's systems, while DSPM's job is to provide a holistic view of an organization's data and how sensitive data is protected.

Let's take a deeper look at DLP vs. DSPM and how to decide which your organization should use.

What is DLP?

DLP is a security strategy that prevents the loss, misuse, exfiltration and unauthorized access of sensitive information, whether accidental, intentional or malicious. It helps protect organizations from data breaches, insider risks, accidental exposure from misconfigurations or leaky applications, and cyberattacks.

DLP programs do the following:

• Discover and classify data on-premises and in the cloud.
• Monitor data entering and leaving the network.
• Protect data -- for example, by blocking unauthorized sharing or preventing unauthorized access.
• Provide real-time alerts to security teams.

A DLP strategy includes technologies, such as antimalware, firewalls, intrusion prevention and endpoint security; data classification and DLP policies; and security awareness training. It uses automation, AI and machine learning to monitor and detect anomalies and suspicious behaviors. DLP can be built into existing systems or deployed through a dedicated platform. Common types of DLP products include endpoint, network and cloud.

DLP platforms offer the following features and capabilities:

• Improve company-wide data visibility to understand where data resides and who or what has access.
• Use automation, encryption and security policies to protect from data disclosure.
• Prevent employees, contractors and third-party suppliers from accessing or oversharing data.
• Help set policies that mirror internal best practices and standards. For example, archive, store and delete data when appropriate.
• Maintain regulatory compliance by keeping data secure according to specific standards and regulations, such as PCI DSS, Sarbanes-Oxley Act and HIPAA.
• Help organizations recover more quickly from data breaches.
• Alert security teams, in real time, to detected threats. Teams can then deploy their incident response plan to limit potential damage.

What is DSPM?

DSPM is a holistic and proactive data security approach that locates, classifies and protects structured and unstructured data on-premises and in the cloud. It ensures data has the proper security posture -- i.e., controls and policies -- and helps prevent unauthorized data access, exfiltration and use. DSPM also helps enhance zero trust and simplify cloud migration projects.

Key DSPM steps include the following:

• Discovery. DSPM tools closely examine data flows; comb through databases and file storage systems -- remote and on-premises, as well as internal and those managed by third parties; applications, related servers; and devices. After examination, tools create a detailed map that pinpoints data flows and locations.
• Classification. DSPM platforms automatically classify data based on its importance to the business. Labels might include personally identifiable information, financial information and intellectual property.
• Risk assessment. DSPM tools rank data based on its vulnerability and prioritize which data is most prone to risk, helping security teams focus on high-priority updates.
• Auditing. DSPM products audit existing security controls and policies and advise teams of any that need optimization or upgrading to maintain compliance. This ensures organizations meet data privacy law requirements, such as GDPR, CCPA and HIPAA.
• Incident response. DSPM tools alert security teams if a security incident occurs and, in some cases, automatically remediate issues or assist teams with mitigation efforts.

DLP vs. DSPM: Which or both?

Let's examine the different roles DLP and DSPM play:

Functionality	DLP	DSPM
Environments it serves	Endpoints, networks, cloud	Cloud and on-premises
Regulatory compliance	Sets and follows compliance policies	Sets and follows compliance policies
Use cases	Classifies data and prevents unauthorized data sharing and exfiltration	Identifies where data resides, who has access, and how data is used
Visibility it provides	Monitors data usage on endpoints, networks, cloud and email	Provides a holistic view of data and its security posture
Pros	Prevents unauthorized data usage according to automated security policies; aids in compliance	Know exactly where all data resides; helps simplify compliance and threat monitoring
Cons	Doesn't always integrate well with other security tools; can yield false positives, which can waste security teams' time	Needs to integrate with other tools to provide an accurate security posture; implementation can be complex
Incident response	Blocks unauthorized data usage and disclosure	Alerts security teams to security incidents; performs automated remediation

Whether a business deploys DLP or DPSM depends on its specific requirements. Heavier regulated industries need DLP to be compliant, while DSPM is ideal for cloud-native environments and companies less worried about specific data sharing.

Note, however, that it's not a question of either-or. DLP and DSPM are both essential data security technologies. DLP is a more granular approach that focuses on preventing unauthorized data transmission. DSPM has a broader scope that focuses on providing visibility into data and how it is used.

Deploying DLP and DSPM together can strengthen security and help ensure organizations have maximum data protection.

Ravi Das is a technical engineering writer for an IT services provider. He is also a cybersecurity consultant at his private practice, ML Tech Inc., and has the Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) certification from ISC2.