Data breaches have caused the average cost to skyrocket, reaching $4.45M in 2023, with the average ransomware payment reaching $2M. These numbers highlight the immense value that data holds for both companies and cybercriminals. Companies gain financially by extracting insights the data provides, while cybercriminals profit by holding data ransom or reselling it. Protecting data is a priority for companies, and data loss protection (DLP) solutions have mushroomed to meet the need.

With 68% of companies reporting that they experienced data loss from attacks that originated at the endpoint, preventing data loss at the endpoint is top of mind for everyone. The focus on endpoint DLPs has intensified in response to the rise of a distributed and mobile workforce, which has pushed employees outside of the safe cocoon of the corporate IT network. Organizations regain control with endpoint DLP solutions, which extend the periphery of their security to monitor and control the edges of their attack surface.

What is endpoint DLP?

Endpoint DLP helps manage insider threats by preventing data loss at endpoints, which include devices such as laptops, desktops, and mobile devices. Endpoint DLP monitors and controls data usage on these devices and prevents unauthorized data transfers through removable media, email, and cloud services

Endpoint DLP vs. Network DLP

Network DLP, on the other hand, focuses on preventing data breaches from external and outbound traffic by monitoring and protecting sensitive data as it moves across a network. The downside to applying DLP at the network layer is that it requires redirecting all network traffic for inspection, and it limits the options for user feedback.

Key features of Endpoint DLP solutions

• Introduce the key features that endpoint DLP solutions provide
• Introduce the ways that an Endpoint DLP solution can help protect enterprises

Granular Monitoring and Control

Endpoint DLP provides granular visibility into data interactions on individual devices, such as laptops, desktops, and mobile phones. This detailed view of data activity enables organizations to closely monitor how sensitive data is accessed, used, and transferred. This includes tracking the movement of files, application usage, and data transfers across devices. 

Endpoint DLP solutions provide real-time monitoring, detailed logging, and real-time alert capabilities which help organizations gain deep insights into user behavior and data flow patterns. Instant alerts trigger when suspicious or unauthorized actions are detected, which help companies maintain compliance with internal policies and regulatory requirements and identify and address potential security breaches before they occur

Preventing Unauthorized Data Transfers

One key feature that helps an endpoint DLP solution combat insider threats is its ability to prevent unauthorized data transfers. This feature can be implemented through centralized policies that can easily be deployed company-wide. Endpoint DLP solutions employ content inspection techniques to analyze the content of data being accessed or transferred and enforce data policies based on the predetermined criteria set by the security and governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) teams. 

Endpoint DLPs prevent unauthorized transfers of sensitive information by controlling the movement of data. This includes blocking attempts to copy data to USB drives, sending confidential information via personal email, or uploading files to cloud services that aren’t approved.

Enhancing Security for Remote and Mobile Workforces

The rise of remote work and the increased usage of mobile devices in the work environment have expanded the periphery of enterprise networks, making data protection more challenging. These trends have complicated device management and visibility and made secure remote access more challenging. 

Organizations have adopted endpoint DLP solutions to address these challenges. They provide central management capabilities to oversee and control remote employees' devices, allowing administrators to monitor device activities, enforce security policies, and ensure compliance with organizational standards. They also enable secure access to the corporate resources and data that are required for remote workers to perform their responsibilities by enforcing authentication and authorization protocols. These include multi-factor authentication (MFA), virtual private network (VPN) connectivity, and secure tunneling to protect data that is in transit between remote devices and corporate networks.

Enforcing Encryption and Data Security

One of the foundational tenets of data security is encryption. Encoding plain text as ciphertext helps organizations protect their data against a range of cyberattacks by ensuring that attackers cannot easily use it. 

Endpoint DLP can help organizations to enforce encryption policies for data stored on devices, ensuring that the data remains secure even if a device is lost or stolen. This is especially important for laptops and mobile devices, which can be easily stolen. Data encryption policies can be created to specify which types of data require encryption (i.e., PII, financial records) and to establish encryption standards (i.e., AES-256) to ensure robust protection.

Benefits of Endpoint DLP solutions

Endpoint DLP provides enterprises with security, manageability, compliance and reputational benefits.

Mitigating Insider Threats

Insider threats, whether malicious or accidental, pose significant risks to data security. Endpoint DLP helps detect and prevent these threats by monitoring user activities, identifying suspicious behavior, and providing policy-based controls to restrict access to data. Endpoint DLP solutions continuously monitor user behavior and their interactions with data to establish a baseline pattern of behavior for each user. When they detect deviations from that pattern or observe anomalous behavior, they can flag these activities as suspicious. 

Endpoint DLP solutions limit data exposure by enforcing strict access controls and data handling policies, allowing only authorized users to access sensitive data. The policies can be set up to define who has access to specific types of data, under what conditions they have access to it, and for what purposes they can access it.

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance

Endpoint DLP solutions can help ensure compliance with strict data protection regulations such as GDPR and HIPAA by managing and protecting sensitive data in accordance with these standards. They do so by helping companies identify and classify data types automatically, and simplify auditing and reporting. Data can be identified and classified based on its type, sensitivity level, and regulatory requirements. Once classified, the appropriate security controls can be applied to the data, and detailed audit logs can capture data interactions, policy violations, user activities, and security incidents, providing a comprehensive record of data protection measures to simplify the reporting process.

Safeguarding Organizational Reputation

Data breaches can devastate an organization’s reputation, leading to diminished customer trust and potential financial losses. To underscore the potential severity of the financial impact, IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach report states that the average lost business cost of a data breach in 2024 was $4.88M. 

A proactive approach to data security is crucial to stave off attacks, and endpoint DLP is a solution to that challenge. They help prevent data breaches and loss by enabling robust security controls and monitoring data activity to encrypt sensitive information, restrict unauthorized access, and prevent data exfiltration. They also mitigate operational risks by preventing data loss, minimizing downtime associated with security incidents, and ensuring business continuity.

A New Approach: Endpoint DLP with an Enterprise Browser

Today, work happens outside the office, performed on unmanaged devices and networks, using an ever-expanding list of SaaS and web applications. Legacy DLP platforms simply weren’t designed for this work environment. Enter:enterprise browser — a browser that embeds advanced security, IT, network controls, data protections and application access into the browsing experience users expect. Enterprise browsers incorporate data loss protection capabilities into its core design to deliver a more effective and efficient way to protect data. Its approach is to protect sensitive data before it leaves or enters the browser by providing several features: 

• Application and data boundaries keep sensitive data within defined enterprise applications and prevent leakage across all means of egress
• Data masking hides sensitive data from view until it’s actually needed
• DLP detectors flag sensitive data to stop leakage, regardless of which application it originates from

As the value of sensitive data increases, remote work becomes more commonplace, and attacks become more sophisticated, the need for a DLP solution that can keep up with an evolving set of demands will become more critical. Enterprise browsers simplify the deployment of an endpoint DLP solution by integrating it into the most commonly used application at work: the browser. Injected with enterprise features that not only ensure DLP protections but also other security, manageability, and productivity enhancements, enterprise browsers help to ensure that endpoint DLP is full-featured, robust, and easy to deploy.

Island: The secure enterprise browser

Island delivers a secure enterprise browser with precise controls. Companies can manage data, apps, and workflows at the point of use. The platform embeds security directly into daily browsing activities.

This innovative approach transforms data loss prevention strategies. Island makes the browser itself a powerful security control plane. It stops sensitive information from escaping approved applications or environments.

Security administrators can implement detailed policies for specific users. They can restrict screenshots, clipboard functions, and file transfers in critical apps. All controls operate natively within the browser without additional software or slowdowns.

Next Action

Are unauthorized data transfers threatening your organization? Do you need better ways to prevent browser-based data leaks? Discover Island's comprehensive approach to data protection.

👉 Read the SaaS Data Loss Prevention Guide

FAQ

What is endpoint DLP and why is it important?

Endpoint Data Loss Protection (DLP) is a security solution that prevents data breaches at the device level, including laptops, desktops, and mobile devices.

It's crucial because 68% of companies report experiencing data loss from attacks originating at endpoints. With the average data breach costing $4.88M in 2024, protecting sensitive data at all access points has become essential for organizations with distributed workforces operating outside corporate networks.

How does endpoint DLP help with compliance?

Endpoint DLP solutions help ensure compliance with strict data protection regulations such as GDPR and HIPA. They do so by automatically identifying and classifying data types based on sensitivity and regulatory requirements. 

They create detailed audit logs that capture data interactions, policy violations, and user activities, providing comprehensive records for simplified reporting during compliance audits.

What benefits does endpoint DLP provide against insider threats?

Endpoint DLP mitigates insider threats by continuously monitoring user behavior. In doing so, DLP can establish baseline patterns, flagging suspicious activities or anomalous behaviors that deviate from these patterns. 

Additionally, it enforces strict access controls and data handling policies. This limits access to sensitive data only to authorized users under specific conditions, preventing both malicious and accidental data exposure from within the organization.

How does an enterprise browser enhance endpoint DLP capabilities?

An enterprise browser integrates DLP capabilities directly into the browsing experience, protecting sensitive data before it leaves or enters the browser through features like application boundaries, data masking, and DLP detectors. 

This approach is particularly effective for today's work environment where employees often use unmanaged devices and networks to access SaaS and web applications, offering a more streamlined deployment compared to traditional DLP solutions.

What security features does endpoint DLP provide for remote workers?

For remote workers, endpoint DLP provides central management capabilities that allow administrators to monitor device activities and enforce security policies regardless of location. 

It secures remote access through authentication protocols like MFA and VPN connectivity, while also enforcing encryption policies for data stored on devices – ensuring that sensitive information remains protected even if a device is lost or stolen.