DSPM: Much More than Data Traffic Control
For today’s CISOs, DPOs, and other data security professionals, managing and securing data across multiple and proliferating data stores makes herding cats look easy.
Your data is continuously at risk across an expanding and complex data attack surface. Add in the critical need for strict compliance with industry and geographic regulations, and cat-herding looks the better occupation.
So, welcome to Data Security Posture Management (DSPM), a security concept that protects sensitive business data across diverse technology environments.
DSPM automates the discovery and classification of data across environments — including multi-cloud. Using machine learning, it prioritizes where data is most at risk, instantly alerts for breaches, and automatically enforces data security policies.
This is complemented by full reporting, analysis, and recommendations to maximize your data security posture.
On one level, DSPM provides continuous awareness and control of your data assets. On a deeper level, it allows you to understand your data and relate to it almost as a living entity.
Understanding Data with DSPM
With DSPM, you do more than data traffic control. You know the vehicles and the people in them and understand the reasons for their journeys.
Discover: Automatically and continuously discover data across your organization’s infrastructure.
Classify: Data is classified and naturally includes sensitive data such as personally identifiable information (PII), personal health information, financial data, and intellectual property.
Assess/Prioritize: The data is risk-assessed and prioritized on those risks.
Monitor and Alert: Detect data breaches and violations of your Data Policies across physical and cloud environments and receive alerts.
Prevent/Recommend: Collate and analyze data movement and issues to allow continual updates and modifications to data policies and procedures.
Five Reasons Why DSPM is Important (and the Benefits)
Arguably, the single overall benefit of DSPM is peace of mind. As a CISO, CTO, or DPO, there is immense value in knowing you have your data covered 24/7/365.
So, how does DSPM deliver this?
1. Holistic Data View >> More Secure Data Protection
All data is known across all environments — cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP, etc.), SaaS applications, on-premises storage, and databases. This includes forgotten or abandoned databases and shadow data stores. DSPM continuously monitors and assesses so you can adapt your data security posture to an ever-evolving data threat landscape — and in real-time.
2. Enhanced Risk Management >> More Proactivity
By identifying vulnerabilities and misconfigurations, DSPM helps you proactively prioritize and mitigate the risks associated with data breaches and unauthorized access. This allows you to focus resources on the right place at the right time.
3. Regulatory Compliance Support >> Better Compliance and Accountability
Data is automatically mapped to the regulatory frameworks in which you operate. You can proactively educate and encourage data handlers to understand and act within these frameworks. For regulatory reporting and auditing, you can track data journeys, who had access, and assess procedure amendments.
4. Clearer Communication >> Smoother Cross-company Collaboration
DSPM reporting and insights allow information sharing with the rest of the organization and help them understand the importance of data security. This enhances collaboration across IT, SOC, compliance, data governance, risk management, DevOps, Legal, Learning and Development, and HR.
5. Automated Process >> Increased Cost Optimization
At the operational level, DSPM helps identify redundant data, reducing storage costs. Automation reduces human intervention and error. On a broader scale, the resources required to carry out the full remit of a DSPM platform are huge compared to using a reliable DPSM partner, which secures data to maximize budget cost-effectiveness.
DSPM for DPOs and Compliance
By now, it will come as no surprise that a robust DSPM platform helps the DPO’s life enormously. It plays a critical role in compliance and risk management, allowing DPOs to comply easily with regulatory standards like GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA.
Automated mapping of sensitive data provides a clear and up-to-date view of where data lives, how it moves across the network, and which systems or users can access it. The continuous risk analysis alerts any activity that could expose the company to regulatory violations.
This results in less manual oversight for DPOs and increased peace of mind for them, as they know regulatory and business requirements are covered.
Future Trends and the Evolution of DSPM
Current trends in DSPM are fascinating. According to Gartner, DSPM adoption rates are expected to climb significantly, with over 20% of organizations deploying it by 2026.
‘DSPM by design’ is being employed in DevSecOps as it is integrated earlier in the software lifecycle to identify and mitigate security risks during development.
DSPM is converging with Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM). While DSPM addresses cloud data security, CSPM ensures that the underlying cloud infrastructure is secure, making both solutions complementary in achieving a comprehensive cloud data security posture.
Emerging technology will also influence the development of DSPM tools. As the data volume grows, DSPM will use more AI and ML to manage it.
Of interest to all CFOs, DSPM solutions are evolving to help prioritize security risks based on financial impact. These insights directly impact the bottom line.
Risks and remediation will be more automated, reducing manual intervention and minimizing response times. Blockchain technology will create absolute audit trails, and integration with edge computing will increase protection across networks and IoT devices.
Are You Ready for DSPM?
While securing an organization’s data can look complex and seemingly impossible, DSPM provides the answer through automation and its ‘all-knowing’ holistic view.
Alongside its operational data security benefits, a robust DSPM platform enables the CISO or DPO to work much more effectively across their organizations to inform and educate on data security. For cash-strapped budgets, DSPM maximizes cost-effectiveness.
As the threat landscape continues to evolve, DSPM is developing, too. AI technology is bringing faster performance, wider reach, and better integration into a company’s infrastructure.
Far from herding cats, the far-sighted data security professionals employing DSPM feel like the cat who got the cream.
Mike Bailey brings 20 years of B2B content marketing expertise across the cybersecurity, technology, and travel sectors. His career has spanned companies at every growth stage — from startups and scale-ups to established global enterprises. In cybersecurity, his experience includes cyber and geopolitical threat intelligence, digital risk protection, and cybersecurity training.