Data breaches come in many varieties. A company might expose customer information (such as credit card numbers), leak employee information (like Social Security numbers), or lose confidential company information (such as plans for a new product). The information might be stolen by a hacker, transmitted by some malicious code, or accidentally left in a cab. So how can MSP's cope with data leak prevention? Network Box USA has some thoughts.
No doubt, businesses deal with a lot of sensitive information and that information can be exposed in many ways. A business has to have a broad approach to protecting data, one that guards all the gates. Locking the door and closing the windows does no good when the person stealing your data is already inside, sitting across the table from you. In a recent blog post, Stephanie Balaouras of Forrester Research discusses data leak prevention and points out the importance of having an “overarching strategy.”
Network Box USA, a service provider that offers “fully managed and monitored” internet security for businesses, has announced a new feature that will broaden its approach.
Headquartered in Texas, Network Box USA is the American arm of the Hong Kong-based Network Box Corp. The company provides a spate of managed security services that include firewall, antivirus, VPN, and other essential Internet security features. This service relies on 12 Security Operation centers located around the globe that monitor and manage client gateways in real time.
On March 23, the company announced the immediate availability of a new data leakage prevention (DLP) option. This feature leverages Network Box’s anti-spam technology, applying it to an organization’s policy on SMTP mail. The feature is customizable, allowing an organization to define rules and enforce policy blocks. When configured, DLP will scan email to ensure sensitive information is not being leaked.
According to a press release from Network Box USA:
“The DLP_Rules engine can be configured to run on outbound data, inbound data, or bi-directionally and can be used to block sensitive information such as credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, and document files. The Policy_DLP engine is configured with a list of directions, as well as named DLP tests and thresholds; this permits sophisticated policy enforcement rules to be configured, enabling an organization to block outbound emails containing specific attachments, such as encrypted ZIP files.”Pierluigi Stella, CTO of Network Box USA, points out that this is a particularly important safeguard for organizations that are subject to regulatory compliance. According to Stella, “many of our customers are financial institutions, where data leakage prevention is an important consideration.”
But all businesses, regardless of whether they’re subject to such compliance, need to protect themselves against data breaches. Leaking information can be devastating to an SMB, resulting in significant fines, loss of a competitive edge, or a damaged reputation.
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