Symantec data loss prevention 11 addresses increasing threats to IP

BANGALORE, INDIA: Symantec Corp. announced it will offer Symantec Data Loss Prevention 11, which will focus on simplifying the detection and protection of enterprises’ most valuable information – their intellectual property.

This major new release of Symantec’s market-leading data security suite aims to enable enterprises to mitigate the growing threat of the well-meaning insider by helping build a culture of security by automating implementation of IT policies and measurably reduce risk of a data breach. It expects to make the remediation process after a security incident more efficient and effective with new Data Insight enhancements and additional security measures at the endpoint.

“IT teams have traditionally focused on external hackers or malicious insiders, ignoring a major risk of the well-meaning insider – whose motivations and reactions to IT security policies are different,” said Shantanu Ghosh, vice president, India Product Operations, Symantec. “We’ve heard from our customers that a more accurate detection of intellectual property and risk-based prioritization of their actions are the fundamental elements of an effective information protection program.”

More data, more risk
Unstructured data is growing at a rate of more than 60 percent[1] per year and is becoming increasingly difficult to manage and protect. An organization’s most valuable information – its intellectual property – is often buried within a growing volume of unstructured documents, many of which are not sensitive.

Unstructured data stores are also typically less secure than other data repositories, making them more vulnerable to data loss from both internal and external threats. As evidenced by targeted attacks such as Hydraq and other high profile losses of confidential documents, intellectual property is more vulnerable than ever before.

Easier to fix with data insight enhancements
Symantec Data Loss Prevention 11 plans to include enhancements to Symantec Data Insight which will streamline the remediation process by identifying the locations where data is at the greatest risk and automatically notifying the associated data owners.

The new Risk Scoring feature will prioritize folders for remediation based on the amount and sensitivity of data they contain as well as the folder’s accessibility. The new Data Owner Remediation capability will help facilitate data security awareness and protection by automatically sending email alerts to owners of the data at risk in shared storage, thereby increasing the effectiveness of an organization’s data protection initiatives.

Added protection at the endpoint
Symantec Data Loss Prevention 11 is expected to deliver multiple endpoint enhancements, including features designed to give organizations the flexibility to allow the use of a wider range of applications and storage devices while maintaining a strong data security posture.

Application File Access Control is designed to ensure user-driven applications such as iTunes, Skype and WebEx can be used by employees without exposing sensitive data. The Trusted Devices feature will enable the use of a wide range of storage devices while assuring that sensitive data can be copied only to approved devices, such as devices issued and tracked by the company.

Also new in this release is Endpoint FlexResponse, which is designed to make it easier for customers to extend data protection at the endpoint by integrating other Symantec and third party solutions, such as encryption and Enterprise Rights Management (ERM).

Symantec Data Loss Prevention 11 is scheduled to be available in the first half of 2011.