The 15 Best Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Tools in 2024

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is becoming increasingly essential for organizations of all sizes to protect their data. Any organization that collects, generates, or stores sensitive information is responsible for keeping that information safe. This responsibility can be moral, legal, or profit-based.

To meet their data protection responsibilities, organizations committed to safeguarding their data are now turning to DLP solutions as opposed to traditional data security systems, which only provide passive protection from pre-identified threats.

Data Loss Protection Software Prevents High-Stakes Data Loss

DLP software solutions are proactive rather than reactive. Advanced DLP tools provide flexible control over highly sensitive data, monitor and identify potential weak points, and provide a robust defense against even the most damaging forms of data loss and security incidents.

Knowing which DLP tools are best for your organization can be tricky. When you factor in security standards, remote employees, access rights management, and more, it can be tough to know what is right for your organization.

In this post, we’ll provide a comprehensive overview of the top 15 DLP tools designed to protect your organization.

The 15 Best Data Loss Prevention Software Tools

1. Teramind
2. Safetica
3. Code42
4. Check Point
5. Trend Micro IDLP
6. Sophos
7. Endpoint Protector
8. Symantec DLP
9. Digital Guardian
10. NinjaOne
11. McAfee DLP
12. Forcepoint DLP
13. SecureTrust Data Loss Prevention
14. Fidelis
15. Clumio

1.  Teramind: The Best Overall DLP Software Solution

• Geared toward enterprise, government, and mid-market data security 
• Monitors virtually any user activity conducted on endpoint devices with scriptable rules and automated responses that block and notify admins of security policy rule violations
• Data protection that accounts for the human element of data loss. Monitor and control how data is handled by users for ultimate data visibility and security compliance across the corporate network
• Out-of-the-box integrations directly from the dashboard allow for seamless integration into your SIEM or PMS
• Easy-to-read and customizable Business Intelligence Reports simplify complex data analysis for total organization-wide visibility within a single console
• Flexible On-premise, Cloud, and Private Cloud deployment options allow organizations to implement Teramind within industry data regulations and internal protection policies

Why Choose Teramind’s Data Loss Prevention Software?

Top-Rated Monitoring Solution Across Platforms

Over 4,000 organizations across the globe trust Teramind’s award-winning platform to detect, record, and prevent malicious user behavior. It also stands out as the preferred employee monitoring software, securing top rankings by reputable platforms such as PC Mag, TechRadar, Capterra, and more.

Rich Set of Features for Comprehensive Oversight

Teramind offers an unparalleled suite of features that cater to a wide range of needs. It provides detailed user activity monitoring, robust threat prevention mechanisms, accurate time tracking, and substantial productivity enhancement tools, making it the most feature-rich solution.

Compliance and Privacy at Its Core

Understanding the importance of regulatory compliance and privacy, Teramind is designed with built-in access controls and privacy settings. These features ensure adherence to global compliance standards such as GDPR and HIPAA, safeguarding sensitive information and personal data.

User-Friendly Interface for Streamlined Operations

Teramind boasts an intuitive user interface and easy-to-use dashboard, eliminating the need for additional resources or extensive training to navigate Teramind. This user-friendly approach allows organizations to integrate the system into their operations seamlessly.

Enhanced Capabilities Through Integrations

Teramind enhances its functionality by offering seamless integration with leading SIEM, PM, and HCM systems. These integrations extend its utility and allow for a more cohesive management experience.

Flexible Deployment Options for Every Business Size

With Teramind, deployment is a breeze. Teramind is designed to cater to businesses of all sizes, offering flexible deployment options, including Cloud, Private Cloud, and On-Premise solutions. This flexibility ensures that small and medium businesses (SMBs) and large enterprises can find a deployment strategy that fits their specific requirements.

What Are Customers Saying About Teramind?

• Excellent product with a wide range of use cases.
• No limits on what you can track!
• The ultimate solution for remote team management
• Excellent for a remote working setup.

2. Safetica – DLP and Insider Risk Management in One

• Three solutions with different levels of data loss protection
• Workflow control and API reporting integrations are only available at the highest price point
• Data analytics can be added with the purchase of an extra module and accessed through secure cloud repositories
• Detects and mitigates insider threats based on behavioral context, including mobile device policy violations
• Data security controls ensure regulatory compliance with GDPR, PCI-DSS, HIPAA and ISO policies

3. Code42 – Insider Risk Detection, Threat Management, and Response

• Logs all movement of data, prioritizes activity with the highest risk of data loss, and informs a right-sized response across a range of potential data breaches.
• Limited deployment options prevent full scans of unauthorized access across the corporate network
• Integrates across security team and employee systems, including messaging, HCM, and ITMS, to manage unauthorized user access and insider threats
• Extensible cloud services architecture environment covers cloud applications to detect data theft across IP protection use cases

4. Check Point – An Expensive DLP Solution Outside the Network Server

• Must be installed on top of an existing Check Point Firewall, potentially complicating access control across the population of user devices
• Limited alert capabilities allow users to discard violation alerts they receive, creating bottlenecks in suspicious behavior situations such as unauthorized data transfers
• Security policy implementation and customization can be complex, increasing initial and ongoing efforts to manage device controls and compliance risks 
• Auto-email scanning and blocker protection are easy to install across cloud-based systems, which helps de-risk access to files from outside threats

5. Trend Micro IDLP – Loss Prevention Security Solution for Low-Cost Buyers

• Bug bounty program identifies zero-day vulnerabilities before they are exploited, reducing suspicious behavior across the corporate system
• VPN protection is only available when purchasing the top tier plan, creating potential risks within the client anti-virus environment
• Ineffective parent controls and policy management create access rights management issues and potential data leak issues at the individual user level
• Trend Micro’s antivirus software security does not deliver consistently in malware protection testing, leading to a wide range of external threat risks

6. Sophos – Cybersecurity Suite as a Service

• Relies on AI deep learning technology rather than signatures, providing intelligent and proactive malware protection for a wide range of security risks
• Must be paired with other Sophos products to offer comprehensive data loss prevention, increasing upfront management costs
• System resources used can strain the corporate network, increasing the risk of missing simple threats like viruses delivered through file transfers and basic ransomware attacks
• Strict security regulations and limits on policy customization create friction in loss prevention policy design and implementation

7. Endpoint Protector – Data Loss Prevention for SMB and Enterprise

• CoSoSys Endpoint Protector offering comes in three flavors: onsite solution, cloud-based, and standalone software, giving clients flexibility in design.
• The basic tool provides content scanning, device control over USB drives, and enforced encryption, requiring tier upgrades to access sophisticated features like risk-adaptive protection.
• Has tested for false positives and incomplete document scanning, creating content inspection and cloud storage risk
• Built with end-user experience focus including remote workers and network administrators to ensure risky behavior is monitored across user personas

8. Symantec Data Loss Prevention – A Modular Solution For Enterprises

• OCR-powered image contextual scanning detects sensitive file information, even in scanned documents to ensure a high degree of content inspection veracity
• The Symantec data loss prevention core solution focuses solely on enterprise customers, with no scalable solutions for small businesses or government agencies
• Offers DLP solutions across endpoints, networks, cloud resources, and file servers from a single, centralized console and across cloud-based application portfolios
• Combines user tracking and data risk controls, including peripheral devices, in a central management server and UI

9. Digital Guardian Endpoint DLP – Military-Grade Cloud-Based Service

• The Digital Guardian platform is rigorous enough to protect highly sensitive military and federal servers, network traffic, and data, and works in Windows, MacOS, and Linux environments
• It lacks on-premise deployment, instead focusing on cloud-based architectures and a full-suite managed service offering
• Protection measures include discovery, categorization, and policy creation for all sensitive data scanned on day one
• Access and movement controls include file integrity monitoring, email and peripheral device data movements, and file transfer controls to minimize security breaches offline and online

10. NinjaOne – UEM, IT Management Software and DLP

• Part of an all-in-one IT management platform intended to replace existing solutions, making implementation cumbersome to internal security experts and administrators
• Reporting capabilities are limited and unsophisticated, including customization options for the NinjaOne ticketing system and user tagging
• Remote tools are easy to deploy and manage, making device control for remote workers less complicated to administer while bolstering leak prevention
• Remote connectivity is inconsistent which impacts the range of DLP needs, from content scanning to potential threats from remote endpoints

11. McAfee DLP – Real-Time Data Tracking and Detection

• Automatically and continuously discovers and classifies protected information, allowing for streamlined detection capabilities as well as security standards and policy setup
• Inadequate tutorials and lackluster support make McAfee DLP difficult to implement
• Cost prohibitive to small businesses and organizations lacking a McAfee-certified team member
• Endpoint protection provides leak protection security across numerous channels, including removable storage devices, instant messaging, multiple cloud versions, and file storage applications
• Combines device controls, data protection rules, and endpoint discovery to safeguard sensitive information on a central management server

12. Forcepoint DLP – Enterprise Class Data Loss Prevention

• URL and web filtering powered by machine learning protects users from navigating to malicious websites and proactively supports data leakage prevention 
• Forcepoint DLP  fails to identify and protect data housed in image files due to lack of OCR content scanning capability, reducing content protection capability
• Endpoint solution can discover, classify, monitor, and protect data, promoting a real-time audit capability tied to global business regulations and access rights 
• The Forcepoint DLP API feature allows for network administration automation in cloud-based application environments to ensure acceptable behavior standards 24/7

13. VikingCloud/SecureTrust Data Loss Prevention

• Qualified by the PCI Security Standards Council to validate an entity’s adherence to PCI DSS; general attention to compliance regulations
• Does not offer on-premise deployment, but rather focuses on cloud systems deployment and related services to manage authorized users and controls
• Provides endpoint security for protection, detection response, and risk analytics, including cloud hosting with instant scaling
• User feedback includes confusing platform documentation, which may add a level of effort to security standards management and platform optimization 

14. Fidelis – Extended Detection and Response Security

• Stacks efficiently on top of other security solutions to provide security design flexibility without a steep learning curve in implementation 
• However, the Fidelis single network choke point design is impractical for a distributed workforce, complicating remote worker access and data controls 
• The Fidelis internal service team scores high marks for quick client response and support, making up for a system based on response to traffic received instead of proactive ID and monitoring
• Rule creation flexibility includes pre-defined policy in financial, IT, and regulatory compliance (e.g. GDPR), as well as cloud solutions like the Google Cloud suite

15. Clumio – Autonomous DLP for Cloud-Based Data Security

• 14-day free trial and freemium versions available; paid versions are cost-predictable and easy for a range of security users to manage
• The DLP’s primary focus is the ease of restoring lost data; it offers some threat protection elements, but more sophisticated features like file integrity monitoring and data discovery are less prioritized
• Automated user backups and ease of use rank highly in client reviews, as do reporting capabilities and customization of reporting based on user needs/personas
• Clumio DLP offers a developer hub for more robust engineering teams, which allows for custom work to meet enterprise DLP requirements that don’t come out of the box

Key Features of Effective DLP Tools

Identifying Sensitive Data

Data loss prevention (DLP) tools are essential in today’s digital landscape for identifying and protecting sensitive data within an organization. These tools scan content across various platforms to detect information that falls under authorized user, regulatory compliance requirements, or internal data protection policies, and seek out potential threats to user and network security.

Both cloud DLP and non-cloud DLP solutions generally leverage advanced techniques such as pattern recognition, keyword matching, and machine learning algorithms across data types, including personal identification numbers, financial records, and confidential business information. This is especially important in mobile device management context where users may have personal phones accessing company data.

Network administrators can define custom data identifiers and classification schemes, making it possible to detect and protect proprietary information unique to the business. Once sensitive data is identified, DLP solutions enforce predefined access policies to control what users can do with the data, whether in a cloud system or on-premise system.

Real-time Protection Features

DLP features such as real-time monitoring and blocking play a crucial role in immediately identifying and blocking potentially unauthorized data transfers and access, including user-owned devices. These features operate by continuously monitoring data in motion, data at rest, and data in use across an organization’s network, endpoints, and cloud environments. With real-time scanning and analysis capabilities, DLP systems can instantly detect when sensitive data is being shared or accessed in a manner that violates predefined security protection rules.

This immediate response mechanism is critical for preventing data breaches before they occur, rather than merely reporting them after the threat has had time to disrupt data, operations, and reputational integrity. For example, if an employee attempts to send an email containing confidential information to an unauthorized recipient, a DLP system can automatically block the transmission and notify the administrator, preventing potential data leakage.

Advanced DLP solutions incorporate machine learning and behavioral analysis to understand the context of data usage and user behavior patterns. This enables differentiation between normal and potentially malicious activities, reducing false positives and allowing legitimate data operations while enforcing strict security measures. For example, a DLP tool can recognize when a user is accessing sensitive files at an unusual time or location and take appropriate actions based on the level of risk assessed.

Policy Management Capabilities

Policy management capabilities within DLP solutions are essential for adapting to potential risks as the company and its surface area evolve. They provide the framework for defining what constitutes sensitive data and how it should be protected at the company policy level.

Effective policy management allows organizations to tailor their data protection strategies to meet specific regulatory compliance requirements, such as GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI-DSS. Policies can be customized to address the unique risks associated with different types of data, user roles, and business processes, ensuring that protection mechanisms are effective and minimally disruptive to legitimate business activities.

Advanced policy management capabilities enable organizations to automate the enforcement of data protection policies, reducing the reliance on manual processes and significantly lowering the risk of human error. This enhances overall security and enables efficient allocation of resources, focusing on strategic security initiatives rather than routine data protection tasks.

Incident Response Procedures

In the context of data loss prevention (DLP), incident response procedures play a crucial role in minimizing the impact of potential data breaches and ensuring swift recovery from incidents to fully protected operations. Effective incident response in DLP involves the immediate detection of policy violations or unauthorized data access, followed by an investigation to understand the scope and source of the breach.

This typically includes analyzing logs, monitoring user activities, and leveraging forensic tools to trace the incident’s origins. By promptly identifying the cause and extent of a data leak, organizational security teams can quickly implement measures to contain the breach, preventing unauthorized access and loss of sensitive information.

Incident response procedures should outline specific roles and responsibilities for the incident response team, establish communication protocols to notify stakeholders, and include procedures for documenting and reporting incidents in compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.

Effective policy management capabilities within DLP solutions enhance incident response efforts by ensuring that policies are up-to-date and reflect the latest regulatory and business needs. This enables organizations to respond more effectively to incidents but also analyze them for insights into potential security gaps across all sources of network traffic.

In essence, comprehensive incident response procedures, supported by dynamic policy management, are fundamental to maintaining resilience against data loss and ensuring continuous improvement in data security practices across the entire network.

Types of High-Stakes Data Loss

Data loss is always frustrating and inconvenient, but some types of data loss have higher consequences than others.

Consequences of PII Data Loss

When an employee, customer, or client shares personally identifiable information, or PII, with an organization, they have a legal right to expect that information will be kept private. Any organization that fails to protect this information can expect decreased revenue and reputational damage. They may also suffer regulatory penalties under privacy legislation.

Under the Privacy Act in the US, a single violation of a “right to privacy” earns a $5,000 fine. Failure to protect sensitive PII is punished harshly. Breach of a child’s privacy incurs a fine of $43,280 under COPPA, while allowing unauthorized access to anyone’s personal health information can carry a fine of $50,000 per violation.

In the EU, data protection agencies are imposing increasingly high fines for violation of the GDPR. In 2020, $180 million was collected in fines. The following year, that number rose more than 500% to $1.25 billion.

Employee PII is particularly valuable to hackers, as it can easily be sold to the highest bidder or used to further infiltrate the organization. In 2013, hackers stole employee credentials and used them to access Twitter’s internal network.

From there, they targeted employees with access to Twitter’s support tools. During the incident, the attackers gained control over 130 accounts and used 45 of them to run a cryptocurrency scam. By the time the invasion was noticed, the threat actors had downloaded the Twitter data of seven accounts, accessed the direct messages of 35 accounts, and amassed $120,000 in Bitcoin.

Companies with the resources to absorb the financial consequences of failing to protect PII will still face an even more challenging problem: rebuilding their reputations. Here are some stats:

• 85% of customers affected by a data breach share that information with others, with 33% taking to social media to air their grievances.
• Companies can expect to lose up to 80% of the customers directly affected by a data loss incident, requiring major investments to rebuild their customer base.

In 2017, Equifax became the subject of a major security breach when it suffered two back-to-back attacks. First, customer data was stolen from their internal servers. As part of their response, Equifax provided a year of free credit monitoring to people affected by the breach. Hackers gained control of the official Equifax account and used it to direct these consumers to a phishing site that collected even more of their PII. In another regrettable move, Equifax released data about the breach before they had all the facts, forcing them to issue a correction and drawing even more unwelcome attention.

Best DLP Features For Protecting Sensitive PII

• Avoid missing a single piece of PII by choosing software with high-powered data scanning capabilities such as optical character recognition (OCR).
• A data protection tool that gives visibility into individual employee behavior and uses complex behavioral analysis to identify actions that are trending in the direction of a breach before any PII is misused.
• Choose a solution that monitors all potential avenues of PII transmission; online meetings, printed documents, instant messaging, email, applications, websites, and external storage devices.

Loss of Financial and Payment Information

When a merchant or service provider is entrusted with cardholder information, they are required by multiple enforceable legal obligations to process, secure, and share this type of data securely. Failing to meet these obligations can have devastating consequences.

Where data loss prevention is governed by law, data protection agencies don’t hesitate to heavily sanction non-compliant organizations. In 2020, the ICO investigated British Airways after a data loss. They found British Airways had inadequately protected credit card, financial, and payment data. Under the terms of the UK GDPR, British Airways was assessed a £143 million fine, which was later brought down to £20 million.

The legal obligation to protect payment information and financial data is also enforced through PCI DSS contracts negotiated between merchants or providers and payment brands. Should a breach occur, the payment brand can stop the offending company from accepting card payments, require it to comply with even more stringent compliance standards, and issue fines.

For example, a 2008/2009 data breach at Heartland Payment Systems exposed 100 million cardmembers. The company took the incident seriously, for a time, but unfortunately, it wasn’t the last data loss incident they suffered. In 2015, failure to maintain appropriate defenses allowed a threat agent to access cardmember data once again.

This time, Heartland Payment Systems was financially penalized for its inadequate data protection. The company had to pay more than $140 million in fines and penalties, in addition to the other costs of recovering from a data breach.

Even when not governed by a law or contract, organizations can still be legally held accountable for failure to protect financial and payment data. In one high-profile ongoing case, a group that runs online sports stores is being investigated for their role in an October 2021 data breach, which affected 1.8 million customers. The data loss incident included names, full card numbers, and CVV codes. In January, affected cardholders filed a class-action suit seeking compensation for damages, and the organization is now awaiting the result of that lawsuit, as well as possible sanctions from data protection agencies.

Best DLP Features to Ensure Compliance

• Choosing a tool with in-depth reporting, automatic logging, and session recording capabilities will make it easier for your organization to meet the burden of proof during a compliance audit.
• Guarantee compliance using DLP software that does more than just alert users before they breach privacy regulations. The best DLP solutions can respond flexibly based on the severity of the behavior, alerting, blocking, or locking out the user in question.

Loss of Trade Secrets and Intellectual Property

Corporate espionage is a factor in 6% of data breaches. Lost business after a breach averages $1.59 million. Even if sales aren’t affected, the loss of trade secrets is costly. Organizations that lose control of trade secrets are compelled to spend valuable resources responding to their loss, which may include investigation and settlement costs, increased protection, litigation, and prosecution expenses.

Companies reliant on IP and other trade secrets to maintain a competitive advantage cannot afford to be lax in their security. Appropriate data loss protection lowers the chances of trade secrets leaving the organization’s control. Should an organization lose control of trade secrets, it may be protected by the US court system, but only if it can be proven that the data was “protected against reasonably anticipated threats”. Thus, it is absolutely essential for companies with trade secrets to implement a robust data loss prevention solution.

Departing employees represent a significant threat to the security of trade secrets. In one high-profile case, a programmer at Goldman Sachs abused his access to trade secrets, transferring proprietary high-frequency transfer technology to flash drives and private email addresses. Goldman Sachs was able to identify the threat and track the data loss.

The programmer was arrested after bringing this improperly acquired and confidential business information to a meeting with a competitor. Because the data was properly protected, the programmer was prosecuted and convicted for the theft of trade secrets, and the competitor was prevented from using any of the stolen data.

Government agencies may also attempt to steal proprietary information or technology, as in the case of Dongfan “Greg” Chung. Acting on behalf of the People’s Republic of China, Chung stole trade secrets from Boeing over 18 years, amassing more than $3 million for his efforts. 

His treachery harmed Boeing and compromised national security, as the trade secrets concerned military technology. Chung will spend the rest of his life in prison, but the stolen secrets and technology can never be recovered.

Best DLP Features for Protecting Company Assets

• The cybersecurity industry is moving away from castle-and-moat protection and towards a zero-trust environment. Futureproof your stack by implementing software that supports this strategy to meet your organization’s security needs as they evolve.
• Attempts to disable fraud alerts or elevate user privileges are two of the best warning signals that secure data is under attack. The tool you choose should automatically recognize, log, and block these actions, and monitor every attempt to access your company’s most critical data.

DLP Prevention Tools FAQs

Which is the best DLP?

The best DLP tools are:

1. Teramind
2. Safetica
3. Code42
4. Check Point
5. Trend Micro IDLP
6. Sophos
7. Endpoint Protector
8. Symantec DLP
9. Digital Guardian
10. NinjaOne
11. McAfee DLP
12. Forcepoint DLP
13. SecureTrust Data Loss Prevention
14. Fidelis
15. Clumio

What are the 3 types of data loss prevention?

The three types of data loss prevention (DLP) are:

1. Network DLP: This type of DLP focuses on monitoring and controlling data as it moves across a network. It helps prevent unauthorized access, data leakage, and data exfiltration.
2. Endpoint DLP: Endpoint DLP focuses on protecting data at the endpoints, such as laptops, mobile devices, and USB drives. It helps prevent data loss, theft, or unauthorized sharing from these devices.
3. Data-at-Rest DLP: Data-at-Rest DLP focuses on securing data when it is stored or archived. It helps prevent data breaches or unauthorized access to sensitive information stored in databases, file servers, or cloud storage services.

By implementing a combination of these DLP strategies, organizations can enhance their data security and prevent various types of data loss incidents.

What is the most effective way to protect against data loss?

Implementing a comprehensive data loss prevention (DLP) strategy is the most effective way to protect against data loss. This includes utilizing a combination of network DLP, endpoint DLP, and data-at-rest DLP solutions to monitor and control data as it moves across networks, protect data at endpoints such as laptops and mobile devices, and secure data when it is stored or archived. Additionally, organizations should establish strong access controls, encryption measures, and employee training programs to ensure sensitive data is handled securely.

Is DLP still relevant?

Yes, DLP (Data Loss Prevention) is still relevant in today’s digital landscape. As data breaches and cyber threats continue to increase, organizations need effective measures to protect their sensitive information. DLP solutions play a crucial role in preventing data leakage, unauthorized access, and data exfiltration.

Does AWS have DLP?

Yes, AWS offers data loss prevention (DLP) solutions. AWS provides various tools, such as Amazon Macie and Amazon GuardDuty. Amazon Macie uses machine learning to discover and classify sensitive data, monitor data access and movement, and automatically apply data protection policies. Amazon GuardDuty identifies unexpected and potentially malicious activities in AWS accounts and workloads, helping to prevent data breaches and unauthorized access.

Why do DLP projects fail?

DLP projects can fail for various reasons. Some common reasons include a lack of executive support and investment in the project, inadequate understanding of the organization’s data and its sensitivity, and failure to properly integrate DLP solutions into existing systems and workflows. Additionally, incomplete or outdated data classification policies, poor user adoption and training, and a lack of ongoing monitoring and maintenance can also contribute to the failure of DLP projects.

What is the difference between DLP and SIEM?

DLP (Data Loss Prevention) focuses on preventing data leakage and unauthorized access to sensitive information, while SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) monitors and analyzes security events and threats. While both are important for overall cybersecurity, DLP is specifically designed for data protection, while SIEM is more focused on threat detection and incident response.