What is Data Security Posture Management?

Data security posture management (DSPM) is a cybersecurity technology that identifies sensitive data across various cloud environments and services, evaluating its susceptibility to security threats and the risk of regulatory non-compliance.

How Does It Work?

Ardent Privacy's DSPM solutions adopt a multi-phase strategy to detect and address potential security threats to an organization's data. These include:

Data Discovery and Mapping

A DSPM solution automates the process of identifying and categorizing sensitive data within the organization, utilizing tools such as AWS Macie. Additionally, it maps the flow and utilization of data throughout the organization's infrastructure.

Risk Assessment and Management

DSPM solutions utilize various methods to detect potential risks to an organization's sensitive data, including vulnerability scans and configuration audits to uncover threats and security vulnerabilities. Based on these assessments, the organization can enforce security measures to oversee and mitigate potential data security risks.

Ongoing Monitoring

DSPM solutions continuously monitor and audit an organization's sensitive data, enabling swift identification of potential risks and weaknesses in data security controls.

Incident Response and Remediation

DSPM facilitates incident response through automated incident detection and remediation via workflows. For instance, automated remediation can ascertain and apply the appropriate permissions for a zero-trust access control policy.

Why Do Enterprises Need Data Security Posture Management (DSPM)?

Data represents a cornerstone of value for many organizations. Modern companies stand to gain several advantages from DSPM, including:

Data Breach Prevention

DSPM enables organizations to proactively address and swiftly respond to data security threats, reducing the likelihood and potential costs of a data breach.

Regulatory Compliance

Various regulations mandate stringent controls over access to sensitive data and necessitate measures to safeguard it against breaches. DSPM provides continuous monitoring and safeguarding, thereby minimizing the risk of unauthorized access and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.

Preserving Brand Reputation

Data breaches can inflict substantial harm on an organization's reputation among customers, vendors, and partners. Through mitigating data security risks, DSPM reduces the probability of a detrimental data breach, thereby safeguarding the organization's reputation.

Key Capabilities of DSPM

Data Discovery and Classification

DSPM solutions possess the ability to pinpoint and categorize sensitive data within an organization's infrastructure, including uncovering data flows and repositories that may be unknown to the organization.

Access Management

DSPM solutions offer insights into an organization's access controls and provide feedback to identify overly permissive permissions that violate the principle of least privilege, thereby exposing the organization to additional data security risks.

Vulnerability Detection and Remediation

DSPM solutions encompass various capabilities for detecting and addressing risks. This includes vulnerability scanning, monitoring configurations, and employing behavioral analytics to identify potential security vulnerabilities and insider threats.

Compliance Support

DSPM solutions assist organizations in upholding regulatory compliance by overseeing and regulating access to sensitive personal information of customers. Moreover, they may integrate specialized regulatory expertise to streamline compliance reporting.

DSPM Use Cases

DSPM can be used to address several use cases within a business. These include:

Data Management and Compliance

DSPM solutions facilitate the identification, classification, and access management of organizational data. This enhances data protection and aids in regulatory compliance adherence.

Attack Surface Management

DSPM, in conjunction with Effective Risk Management practices, assists in monitoring and remedying potential vulnerabilities and misconfigurations that cybercriminals may exploit to target an organization's data.

Least Privilege Enforcement

DSPM supports the implementation of the principle of least privilege, crucial to the zero-trust security model. By working alongside cloud infrastructure entitlement management (CIEM), DSPM identifies instances of excessive access and helps enforce least privilege.

Simplified Data Protection

DSPM solutions operate seamlessly across diverse cloud-based environments, enabling organizations to efficiently detect and manage data security throughout their entire infrastructure.

Other Acronyms

Universal Consent Management (CM)

Universal Consent management is the process of managing, complying and obtaining with user consent for the collection and use of personal data. It has become increasingly important for businesses of all sizes, as data privacy laws around the world become more stringent.

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Data Centric Security and DBoM

Data-centric security refers to an approach where data is protected at the core level, focusing on securing the data itself rather than just the perimeter or network infrastructure. This strategy aims to ensure that even if unauthorized users gain access to the data, they cannot use or exploit it.

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What is Data Security Posture Management?