Every business needs a Data Loss Prevention (DLP) strategy in place: procedures and techniques designed to prevent the unauthorized loss, alteration, or access of sensitive data. After all, it’s no secret that critical business data is at risk. And with the average cost of a data breach rising 12% over the past five years to a global average of £3.2 million, it’s a problem that businesses can’t afford to ignore.

This raises an important question for anyone investing in DLP solutions. As businesses continue to accelerate digital transformation and adapt to hybrid working, how has the ideal DLP strategy changed from a few years ago?

How to prevent data loss incidents

We regularly talk to business leaders and IT experts in charge of keeping their business data secure. Most of the professionals we speak to aren’t aware that the vast majority of data leaks — approximately 70% in 2022 according to the ICO — are a result of employee activity, rather than an external attack. This lack of awareness leads to a glaring omission in most data loss prevention strategies. If too much trust is placed on inbound security measures that prevent data loss through external and malicious attacks, businesses are more likely to be caught off guard by other more common types of data loss, such as human error.

Ironically, investing in complicated data security software can also lead to a greater risk of data breach. When employees are required to learn how to use complex new tools (particularly when said solutions are shoehorned into their existing workflows), one of two things is likely to happen:

1. Human error will increase as well-meaning employees struggle to adapt to new requirements placed on them, in addition to their existing busy roles. 
   
   
2. Your new tools and processes will be ignored completely as stressed employees seek out simpler ways to perform their day to day jobs.

Simply put, when technology doesn't work for your people, your people won't work with it.

We see organisations increasing their tech stacks in an effort to support hybrid working and productivity. In fact, according to our Freedom to Focus report, more than half of employees have seen an increase in the number of collaboration tools they’re required to use at work. 

This not only creates more distraction in their day-to-day professional lives, which can hurt morale and productivity, but also increases data security risk. 38% of IT leaders in the UK name the increasing number of collaboration and data sharing tools as a key security risk. It should come as no surprise that the more new information a person has to remember, the more likely they are to forget (or ignore) that information. Especially if they’re on the clock and need to focus on the task at hand!

Taking a smarter approach to human error

Human error is the leading cause of data breaches. But rather than vilifying employees as potential hazards and giving them increasing numbers of security hoops to jump through, businesses should take a more effective approach, by empowering employees to work securely and efficiently without disrupting their existing workflow. And while security training and employee awareness play an important role in a data loss prevention strategy, it’s far from sufficient. After all, human error can’t be “trained out” of people.

This is why progressive security leaders don't try to change their employee's behavior with ever more training, tools, and processes. Rather, these leaders recognize the value of smart security solutions that prevent data leaks by integrating into workflows, aligning with existing behavior to make doing the right thing easy.

How Zivver enhances your data loss prevention strategy

When it comes to data security, employees are your most valuable asset. That’s why Zivver Secure Email balances smart security and encryption with convenience and ease of use, meeting the needs of modern businesses by prioritizing user-experience as much as intuitive functionality. 

For instance, our solution integrates with common email clients (including Gmail, Outlook and M365), providing intuitive security without users having to navigate between windows or applications. Advanced email encryption also fills the gaps of traditional TLS encryption, ensuring your email content is encrypted and secure at all times, not only while in transit.

A data loss prevention strategy will only be effective if it uses technology to balance internal and external risk, focusing on rightsized email security to meet the needs of your specific organization and industry. With Zivver’s smart, secure, and effortless email security tools, you can do just that. Book a free demo to learn more.