DLP – Data Leakage Prevention for Businesses
ISCG helps design and implement DLP policies in a Microsoft 365 environment, including through the use of Microsoft Purview. This enables organizations to protect data processed in email, files, cloud applications, and on endpoints—without creating barriers that everyone will learn to circumvent after a few weeks.
A well-designed DLP system should not disrupt work. The goal is to reduce the risk of data leaks, not to generate hundreds of false alerts and blockages that frustrate users and overload the IT department.
When does a company need DLP?
The most common starting point looks something like this: files are stored in SharePoint and OneDrive, documents are exchanged via email, some data ends up in Teams, and users work from various locations and on various devices. The company knows it has sensitive data, but it doesn’t know exactly where—and it has no way to control what happens to it.
Implementing DLP can help ensure compliance with the requirements of the GDPR, NIS2, or DORA, as it helps mitigate the risk of unauthorized data disclosure, control the flow of information, and document incidents involving sensitive data.
What does a DLP implementation entail?
Implementing DLP begins with data classification. First, you need to determine what information is sensitive and where it is located: in documents, email, repositories, departmental systems, or on end-user devices.
Next, we design DLP policies that specify what should happen when a user attempts to perform a risky action. This could be a warning, a business justification, a sharing block, an alert to an administrator, or an automatic incident log.
DLP implementation may include:
- protection of personal and financial data,
- monitoring the transmission of data via email,
- restricting file sharing outside the organization,
- monitoring document work in SharePoint and OneDrive,
- control over data copying on endpoints (Endpoint DLP),
- alerts for administrators and security teams,
- reporting of incidents involving sensitive data.
The most important thing is for DLP policies to be tailored to the company’s actual processes. Otherwise, users will quickly begin to view them as an obstacle rather than a security measure. Rules that are too restrictive from the start are one of the most common reasons for DLP implementation failures.
DLP vs. Microsoft Purview
Microsoft Purview allows you to create data protection policies in the Microsoft 365 environment and manage information security more broadly. Depending on your licenses, you can use content classifiers, sensitivity labels, retention policies, and the full capabilities of Endpoint DLP.
As a Microsoft Partner, ISCG helps tailor the scope of implementation to an organization’s actual needs. Not every company needs to block every data flow channel right away. Often, the best approach is to identify the most critical types of sensitive data and set up monitoring—and only after a few weeks of observation—gradually implement blocks.
How We Implement DLP
We start by identifying what types of data require protection, where they are stored, and how users interact with them. We analyze the current settings for Microsoft 365, SharePoint, OneDrive, Exchange, and endpoints. At this stage, we also determine which data leak scenarios pose a real risk to the organization—not every company needs the same policies.
Based on our analysis, we develop DLP rules. We determine which actions should only be monitored, which require a user alert, and which should be blocked. We start with observation mode—the policies are active but do not block anything. This allows us to assess the number and quality of alerts before enabling full protection.
Testing, Implementation, and Optimization
We apply policies to selected user groups or data types, monitor the number of alerts, and refine the rules. DLP requires fine-tuning—rules that are too broad generate false positives, while rules that are too narrow may miss actual incidents. Once the configuration has stabilized, we expand the scope to the entire organization and integrate the alerts with SIEM monitoring.
Not sure if your sensitive data is secure?
We'll identify potential data leak risks in your Microsoft 365 environment and recommend DLP policies tailored to your organization's workflows—without disrupting your day-to-day operations.
Benefits of Implementing DLP
A well-implemented DLP helps reduce the risk of data being sent outside the company—whether accidentally or intentionally—supports compliance with legal requirements, and streamlines information management. The IT and security teams gain visibility into the flow of sensitive data and specific mechanisms for reporting incidents.
This is particularly important for companies that operate on a hybrid model, make extensive use of Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive, or process data that requires special protection—such as customer data, financial information, intellectual property, or legal documentation.
Mitigating the Risk of Data Breaches
Streamlines information management
Compliance Support
Frequently Asked Questions
It doesn't have to. A well-designed DLP solution starts with analysis and testing. We first deploy policies in monitoring mode—users work as usual, and we monitor the alerts. Blocking and warnings are enabled gradually, after the rules have been adapted to the company’s actual processes.
In most cases, implementation begins with Microsoft 365, but the scope depends on the license and configuration. Microsoft Purview DLP can cover Exchange email, SharePoint and OneDrive files, Teams messages, and endpoints via Endpoint DLP. For hybrid environments, integration with other sources is also possible.
DLP does not automatically ensure GDPR compliance, but it is one of the key tools for mitigating risk. It helps identify personal data within the environment, control its sharing, and provide mechanisms for reporting incidents—which is required by both the GDPR and the NIS2 and DORA directives.
Starting with an inventory of sensitive data—determining what types of information the company processes and where they are located. Next, we deploy DLP policies in monitoring mode for the most critical scenarios: sending personal data via email, sharing files outside the organization, and copying data to endpoints. Only after verifying the alerts do we proceed to production deployment.
DLP features in Microsoft Purview depend on your Microsoft 365 plan and any add-ons you have. Basic DLP scenarios for Exchange, SharePoint, and OneDrive are available in select plans, while Endpoint DLP, advanced classification, and some compliance features may require higher-tier plans or add-ons. Therefore, you should verify your licensing coverage before implementation.
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