Prevent, detect, monitor: A complete data risk strategy with DSPM
Data is one of an organization’s most valuable assets. However, in many cases, the value of this asset is not reflected in the security measures taken to protect it from misuse, tampering, or theft. To further complicate matters, the data gathered by many organizations is growing significantly in sensitivity and volume. Research revealed that 73% of CISOs struggle with managing data stored across various cloud environments and other platforms.
Currently, maintaining data control and visibility in compliance with company data policies and state or federal data protection laws presents various challenges, and traditional approaches to data risk and protection no longer suffice. This is why a growing number of organizations are turning to Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) to identify, assess, and mitigate data risks.
DSPM in a nutshell
A transformative approach to data security, DSPM enables organizations to move from reacting to threats reactively to a more proactive security posture. This approach combines advanced data discovery, classification, and risk analytics to strategically manage and keep data secure. DSPM solutions are aimed at the entire data cycle, including creation, storage, access, and deletion.
The shift toward proactive data protection
Until recently, data risk strategies have focused mainly on endpoint protections, firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and other perimeter defenses. While these measures are still important, they don’t usually answer one essential question: Where is your sensitive data, and how is it being used?
DSPM tools provide the answer to this question. They can map your whole data environment, whether on-site or spread across multiple cloud services.
Going beyond mapping, they continually scan structured and unstructured data sources, identifying regulated or sensitive information such as financial records, personally identifiable information (PII), and protected health information (PHI). They also analyze the flow of data within your organization. The visibility they provide allows your team to implement proper controls, minimize data sprawl, and comply with HIPAA, CCPA, and other privacy laws.
Prevention starts with visibility and classification
One of DSPM’s most important capabilities is its ability to provide deep data visibility. Unlike traditional tools that offer surface-level overviews, DSPM tools use AI-powered scanning to classify data based on regulatory status, sensitivity, and usage. This level of classification is essential for implementing risk-based data security policies.
By knowing which data sets are critical and where they are, your organization can set up precise access controls, automated remediation workflows, and encryption policies to reduce the attack surface and prevent data leakages before they happen.
Real-time detection and contextual alerting
Cyberattacks targeting data often see attackers move laterally and dwell undetected within systems for weeks or months. This makes real-time detection non-negotiable. DSPM integrates with security information and event management (SIEM) platforms and identity management systems to provide context-aware alerting based on data access behavior, activity anomalies, and user roles.
This approach empowers your team to uncover threats that often slip past traditional security tools. What sets DSPM apart is its ability to connect high-risk data activity with broader business activity monitoring, providing deeper context and more actionable insights than conventional data risk strategies. This integrated visibility allows your security team to distinguish between harmless business processes and genuine threats, reducing alert fatigue and facilitating faster and more accurate incident responses.
Continuous monitoring and risk posture improvement
Data security is not a one-time endeavor. It’s a continuous process. This is where DSPM’s monitoring aspect is vital. These tools operate 24/7, analyzing changes in access policies, data structures, and user behavior and maintaining an up-to-date view of your organization’s risk posture.
With customizable dashboards and reports, your security teams and compliance officers gain valuable insights into data risk trends, policy violations, and remediation effectiveness. This empowers your organization to fine-tune its security programs, improve audit readiness, and show its accountability to stakeholders.
Integrating DSPM into your organization’s wider security strategy also enhances the value of your existing tools. For example, next-generation data security posture tools can use DSPM insights to improve threat prioritization and response strategies and automate compliance checks.
Aligning security with business goals
One of DSPM’s most important benefits is its ability to close the gap between business risk management and technical security controls. By harmonizing your organization’s data protection strategy with business objectives such as customer trust, operational continuity, and regulatory compliance, DSPM—especially when integrated with business activity monitoring software—makes cybersecurity a shared responsibility across departments.
This harmonization is essential as more organizations implement digital transformation and increase their use of AI models, cloud-native services, and third-party integrations. Along with increasing agility and efficiency, these innovations create new data exposure risks. DSPM allows your organization to embrace innovation without compromising data security.
DSPM: A complete, integrated data risk strategy
As valuable as data is as an asset, it’s also vulnerable. As threats evolve and data becomes more complex, traditional security strategies can no longer offer the protection they once did. DSPM enables you to create a complete, integrated approach to preventing, detecting, and monitoring data risks.
Use DSPM to gain the automation, intelligence, and visibility your organization needs to stay ahead of threats and maintain control over its most sensitive data, protecting your operations and reputation while unlocking new growth opportunities.