Data Loss Prevention (DLP) & Microsoft Purview

Problem: Healthcare employees emailing patient records (PHI) to personal email, sharing via Teams with unauthorized users, or uploading to consumer cloud storage.

Solution: Purview DLP automatically detects PHI in emails/files (patient names, MRNs, diagnoses), blocks external email containing PHI, prevents unauthorized SharePoint/OneDrive sharing, alerts on Teams messages with PHI, and encrypts PHI files shared with approved partners.

Compliance: HIPAA Security Rule § 164.312(a)(1), § 164.312(e)(1)

Problem: Finance teams storing credit card numbers in Excel spreadsheets on SharePoint, emailing payment info to vendors, or saving cardholder data in insecure locations.

Solution: DLP detects credit card numbers (PAN) and CVV codes across M365, quarantines emails with 10+ card numbers (potential breach), blocks SharePoint upload of PAN data, alerts CISO on cardholder data storage violations, and enforces PCI-approved data handling workflows.

Compliance: PCI-DSS Requirement 3 (Protect Stored Cardholder Data)

Problem: Employees emailing EU customer data (names, emails, addresses) to non-EU locations, violating GDPR data transfer requirements and risking fines up to 4% of revenue.

Solution: DLP identifies EU PII using geo-location + custom patterns, blocks email transfers to non-EU without approved safeguards, requires encryption for EU data sharing, logs all PII access for GDPR Article 30 documentation, and provides data subject request (DSR) search capabilities.

Compliance: GDPR Article 32 (Security), Article 44 (Data Transfers)

Problem: SaaS companies need to demonstrate confidentiality controls for customer data to pass SOC 2 audits and win enterprise deals.

Solution: Implement sensitivity labels ('Customer-Confidential') on all customer data, enforce DLP policies preventing unauthorized external sharing, provide audit reports showing classification coverage and policy enforcement, demonstrate encryption of confidential data at rest/in transit, and document access controls meeting SOC 2 CC6.6 requirements.

Compliance: SOC 2 Confidentiality Trust Service Criteria (CC6.6, CC6.7)

Problem: Departing employees copying customer lists, financial data, or IP to personal devices/cloud storage before leaving the company.

Solution: Endpoint DLP monitors departing employees' devices, blocks USB copying of confidential files, prevents bulk downloads (> 100 files/day), alerts on uploads to personal OneDrive/Dropbox/Google Drive, integrates with HR systems to auto-enable high-risk monitoring, and provides forensic investigation capabilities for suspicious activity.

Use Case: Insider threat detection, IP protection, M&A data security

Problem: Engineering teams accidentally sharing source code, product designs, or trade secrets with competitors or in public channels.

Solution: Custom sensitive info types detect IP (proprietary algorithms, code patterns, design specs), auto-label engineering files as 'IP-Confidential', block accidental sharing in public Teams channels, prevent external email of IP without approval, encrypt IP shared with approved partners, and alert legal team on IP policy violations.

Use Case: R&D protection, manufacturing trade secrets, software IP