Data is every organization’s most valuable asset – and also one of the most difficult to protect, because its characteristics make it inherently mobile. Data flows through email, through the cloud, through mobile devices, through SaaS applications. The traditional approach to data protection – securing the perimeter of the network – no longer works as data has left its “strongholds” and spread across dozens of clouds and devices. Forcepoint DLP is a Data Loss Prevention solution designed to protect data in every channel – network, endpoint and cloud.
Table of contents
- What is DLP and why is classical protection not enough?
- How does Forcepoint DLP classify sensitive data?
- Data protection in network traffic
- Data protection on endpoints
- DLP in cloud and SaaS environments
- Breach response and reporting workflow
- Key findings
- FAQ
- Summary
What is DLP and why is classical protection not enough?
Data Loss Prevention is a category of solutions aimed at preventing unauthorized movement of sensitive data outside the organization – whether intentional or accidental. Classic DLP focused on controlling USB ports, printers and outgoing e-mail. This approach is increasingly inadequate in a world where data is going out through SaaS applications, personal cloud accounts, web applications and channels that first-generation DLP did not see.
Forcepoint DLP is a next-generation platform that monitors and protects data in motion over the network (DLP Network), on endpoint devices (DLP Endpoint) and in SaaS and cloud applications (DLP for Cloud). All three vectors are managed from a single console and apply the same data classification policies – ensuring consistent protection regardless of channel.
How does Forcepoint DLP classify sensitive data?
Data classification is the heart of any DLP solution – if the system does not recognize what is sensitive, it cannot protect it. Forcepoint DLP offers several classification mechanisms that can be combined for maximum precision.
Data Classification Engine supports ready-made policies for regulated data categories: payment card data (PCI DSS – templates for card numbers, CVV, expiration dates), personal data (GDPR, CCPA – names, addresses, PESEL/SSN numbers), health data (HIPAA), intellectual property (custom templates for organization specifics). Ready-made policies cover more than 1,700 predefined templates for different jurisdictions and data types.
Document Fingerprinting allows sensitive documents to be recorded by their “digital imprint.” – The system recognizes a document or portions of it even when it has been modified, copied to another file or formatted differently. This is crucial for protecting intellectual property – project documents, contracts, research data.
Machine Learning based on user behavior analysis (UEBA) detects anomalies in the way data is handled – bulk downloads before termination, transferring large volumes of data to new locations, accessing resources unrelated to the role.
Data protection in network traffic
DLP Network monitors data flowing through the network gateway – outbound email (SMTP), web traffic (HTTP/HTTPS), file transfer protocols (FTP, SFTP), instant messaging and other network protocols. HTTPS inspection requires decryption of SSL traffic – Forcepoint DLP integrates with existing proxy and SSL inspection solutions.
When sensitive data is detected, the system can: block the transmission immediately, request confirmation from the user (with the requirement of a business justification), encrypt the data before sending, or alert the administrator without blocking (monitoring mode). The granularity of the policies allows you to differentiate actions depending on the recipient, channel and data classification – for example, a document containing financial data can be sent encrypted to partners, but blocked to free email boxes. Integration with next-generation web security strengthens application layer protection.
Data protection on endpoints
DLP Endpoint protects data at the endpoint device level – regardless of whether the device is connected to the corporate network. The endpoint agent monitors file operations, the system clipboard, copying to external devices (USB, external drives), printing and screenshots.
For environments with remote work, this is a critical feature – an employee outside the office does not go through the DLP network gateway, but has an agent installed that enforces policies locally. Policies are downloaded from a central server and cached locally, so they work even without a permanent connection to the corporate network.
DLP in cloud and SaaS environments
Forcepoint DLP’s integration with SaaS applications (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Salesforce, Box, Dropbox and others) is done via cloud platform APIs and CASB (Cloud Access Security Broker). DLP “sees” what is uploaded, shared and downloaded from these applications – and applies the same policies as for network traffic.
It is especially important to protect against shadow IT – unauthorized SaaS applications to which employees upload company documents. Forcepoint DLP in conjunction with CASB identifies such applications and can block the transfer of sensitive data to unauthorized services.
Breach response and reporting workflow
Each DLP event is recorded in a central event database with full context: who, what, when, where and what data. The Forcepoint DLP console offers advanced analysis and reporting capabilities – filtering events by risk, user, channel and data classification.
The incident management workflow allows you to assign an incident to an analyst, add notes, change status and escalate. Compliance reports (PCI DSS, GDPR, HIPAA) generate automatically and document data protection status for auditors. Integration with SIEM exports events to a central security analysis.
Key findings
- Forcepoint DLP protects data in three vectors simultaneously – network, endpoint and cloud – with a unified policy managed from a single console.
- Data classification is based on ready-made policies (1700+ templates), document fingerprinting and machine learning.
- Network protection includes e-mail, web traffic, FTP and other protocols with granular response control.
- The endpoint agent enforces policies locally, regardless of network connectivity – crucial for remote working environments.
- Integration with SaaS via API and CASB protects against shadow IT and unauthorized sharing of data in the cloud.
FAQ
Does Forcepoint DLP support data in Polish and other European languages? Yes – Forcepoint DLP has ready-made policies for GDPR-regulated personal data with support for specific identifier formats for European countries, including the Polish PESEL and NIP.
How does Forcepoint DLP deal with steganography and data hiding? Forcepoint DLP supports inspection of the contents of image files (OCR), encrypted documents (through key integration) and detection of statistical anomalies that may indicate steganography.
Does the DLP implementation require a configuration change on the users’ side? DLP Endpoint agents are installed centrally by management systems (SCCM, GPO, Intune) and are invisible to the user in normal mode. The user only sees notifications when a policy violation is attempted.
How does Forcepoint DLP fit into NIS2 requirements? Forcepoint DLP supports NIS2 requirements for data protection and incident management – providing the event documentation and compliance reports necessary to demonstrate compliance.
Summary
Forcepoint DLP is a comprehensive data protection solution that keeps up with the realities of multi-cloud environments and remote workloads. Consistent classification and protection of data across the network, endpoints and the cloud – managed from a single console – addresses challenges that the first generations of DLP couldn’t handle. Contact Ramsdata to learn how Forcepoint can protect your organization’s sensitive data.
