Your organization stores an incredible amount of data — code, credentials, proprietary information, customer data, information about your employees — it’s all sensitive data, and threat actors are interested in getting their hands on it. You may be tempted to invest in Data Loss Prevention (DLP) tools to protect your data, but DLP isn’t quite what it seems.
Isn’t Flare’s solution a DLP tool?
No, and in fact many of the tools that bill themselves as DLP don’t really prevent data loss. DLP tools categorize and limit access to data (for example, blocking an employee from sending sensitive data outside of a network), but can’t prevent data loss. Flare’s tool gives you visibility into your data — if it has been leaked, you’ll know about it immediately.
How does Flare answer data loss needs?
Flare provides continuous, automated monitoring of your organization’s critical digital assets, such as domains, usernames, brand mentions, and more. By scanning the clear & dark web 24/7 and sending only relevant notifications to your team, Flare helps your analysts find data leaks and take action immediately.
How does Flare help with data loss?
Attackers don’t want to get caught stealing your data, so your team may not even know data has been leaked or stolen. Flare scans the clear & dark web, as well as illicit Telegram channels, so your team can find lost data before criminals are able to exploit any vulnerabilities.
What are the key benefits of Flare’s tools?
- A proactive security stance: By actively seeking out leaks, you can catch breaches and accidental data exposures early.
- Visibility into your data leaks: Flare’s data leak monitoring solution scans the dark and clear web, as well as illicit Telegram channels, to find leaks before an attack happens.
- Continuous monitoring: It’s not possible for your team to scan the web manually. Using an automated solution gives you 24/7 coverage, so you will know as soon as information is leaked or stolen.
Understanding Data Loss Prevention
What is Data Loss Prevention?
Data Loss Prevention (DLP), sometimes called Data Leakage Prevention, is the practice of detecting and preventing data breaches, leaks, theft, or the destruction of sensitive data. However, the name is more of a fantasy, because DLP tools can’t truly prevent data leaks. In many cases, an investment in DLP tools simply checks a compliance box.
How does data loss occur?
Data loss can happen through theft during an attack, or simply by mistake. However, it happens, a data leak occurs when sensitive, confidential, or protected information is disclosed to unauthorized individuals.
How can data loss be prevented?
- Encrypt code: Developers often collaborate on projects. If your team is distributing code across several platforms, be sure they encrypt data to keep it safe from malicious actors.
- Require strong authentication: Strong password practices are critical. Criminals count on your team getting lazy with their passwords, reusing old ones or using the easy to guess passwords.
- Harden your infrastructure: Attackers are always looking for vulnerabilities. Strengthen your infrastructure, so that attackers can’t find vulnerabilities to exploit.
- Monitor potential leaks: It’s critical to look for leaked code before a breach or an attack. Scan software for malicious or harmful code that may have been inserted. Search public GitHub repositories for accidentally or maliciously leaked code. Continuous scanning of sites like pastebin and monitoring the dark web can also help to quickly identify leaks and suspicious activity.
Why is data loss a concern in today’s cybersecurity landscape?
How likely is your organization’s data to be lost?
Last year was a record setting year for data theft. In 2023, 3,205 data compromises were reported, 78% more than in 2022. With so many threat actors trying to steal data, it’s likely that someone is trying to steal your sensitive data. It’s also important to catch any data leaks as soon as you can, which is why data loss prevention is crucial.
What can happen if data is lost?
When lost or stolen data is exploited by a threat actor, the consequences can be severe:
- Financial loss due to regulatory fines, legal action, and remediation costs
- Reputational damage, leading to a loss of customers, partners, and investors
- The interruption of operations, and loss of income
- Loss of intellectual property
What is the financial impact of a data breach?
In 2023, the average cost of a data breach peaked in 2023 at $4.45 million. This is a potentially devastating cost for small businesses, which then pass those costs along to their customers. Reports find that after a breach, organizations tend to raise prices of goods and services.
DLP and Flare
Flare provides the leading Threat Exposure Management (TEM) solution for organizations. Our technology constantly scans the online world, including the clear & dark web, to discover unknown events, automatically prioritize risks, and deliver actionable intelligence you can use instantly to improve security. Monitor data leaks with Flare to keep your organization’s most important data safe and secure.
Our solution integrates into your security program in 30 minutes to provide your team with actionable intelligence and automated remediation for high-risk exposure. See it yourself with our free trial.
