What Is Data Security Posture Management (DSPM)?

Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) is the process of monitoring and managing the security posture of an organization’s data assets. It involves continuously assessing the security risks associated with an organization’s data, identifying vulnerabilities, and implementing controls to mitigate those risks.

DSPM enables organizations to proactively identify and address potential security threats before they become significant issues. By continually monitoring their security posture, organizations can ensure that their data is protected against both internal and external threats. This involves tracking access to data, detecting anomalies in data usage, monitoring data transfers, and implementing effective security controls.

DSPM solutions typically incorporate a range of security technologies and best practices, such as vulnerability management, data encryption, and identity and access management. By adopting a holistic approach to data security posture management, organizations can better protect their sensitive data and ensure compliance with relevant regulations and standards.

This is part of a series of articles about application security

In this article:

The Importance of DSPM Solutions
How Does DSPM Work?
How Is DSPM Different from CSPM?
How to Choose a DSPM Solution

The Importance of DSPM Solutions

Data security posture management plays a crucial role across the enterprise, providing organizations with a comprehensive and proactive approach to managing the security of their data assets. Here are some reasons why DSPM is important:

Protection against cybersecurity threats: With the increasing sophistication and frequency of cyber attacks, organizations need to adopt a proactive approach to data security. DSPM solutions help organizations to identify potential vulnerabilities and respond to security incidents in real-time, mitigating the risk of data breaches and other cyber threats. This allows organizations to protect their reputation, prevent financial losses, and maintain the trust of their customers and stakeholders.
Regulatory compliance: Organizations that handle data are subject to a range of regulations and standards, which require them to protect their data against unauthorized access and disclosure. DSPM solutions can help organizations to meet these compliance requirements by providing a comprehensive and automated approach to data security posture management. This includes monitoring access to data, detecting and responding to security incidents, and implementing effective security controls.
Risk reduction: DSPM solutions enable organizations to identify and mitigate potential security risks before they become significant issues. By continuously monitoring their security posture, organizations can detect and respond to security incidents in real-time, reducing the risk of data breaches, financial losses, and reputational damage.
Liability management: Organizations have a legal and ethical responsibility to protect their data against unauthorized access and disclosure. Failure to do so can result in significant financial penalties, legal action, and reputational damage. DSPM solutions can help organizations to manage their liability by providing a comprehensive and automated approach to data security posture management.

How Does DSPM Work?

Data security posture management works by continuously monitoring and managing the security posture of an organization’s data assets. Here are the high-level steps involved in the DSPM process:

Locating and analyzing the content of the data: The first step in DSPM is to locate and analyze the content of an organization’s data. This involves identifying all data assets, including structured and unstructured data, and analyzing their content to determine their level of sensitivity and criticality. This allows organizations to prioritize their data security efforts and focus on protecting their most sensitive and critical data.
Detecting at-risk data and prioritizing remediation: The next step involves using DSPM tools and technologies to continuously monitor access to data, detect anomalies in data usage, and identify potential security risks. Once identified, the at-risk data is prioritized based on its level of sensitivity and criticality, and a remediation plan is developed to mitigate the identified risks. A major consideration here is the access level of the data – it’s important to strike a balance between accessibility and security. Risks to look out for include excessive access privileges, application vulnerabilities, inactive users, and security misconfigurations.
Remediating and preventing the future recurrence of data risks: The final step in DSPM is to remediate the identified risks and apply measures to prevent their future recurrence. This involves implementing a range of security controls and best practices, such as data encryption, identity and access management, and vulnerability management. DSPM solutions also use machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms to automate the remediation process and provide real-time alerts and notifications to security teams.

How Is DSPM Different from CSPM?

DSPM and CSPM are two distinct approaches to managing and securing an organization’s data and cloud infrastructure. Here are some key differences between the two:

Approach: DSPM is a data-centric approach to security that focuses on protecting an organization’s data assets. CSPM, on the other hand, is an infrastructure-centric approach that focuses on securing an organization’s entire cloud infrastructure.
Purpose: DSPM solutions are designed to focus on data security and provide comprehensive data protection across the organization’s entire data landscape. CSPM solutions, on the other hand, focus on the security of an organization’s cloud infrastructure, including servers, storage, networks, and applications.
Scope: DSPM solutions are designed to cover data everywhere, including on-premise, cloud, and hybrid environments. CSPM solutions, on the other hand, are primarily focused on public cloud security and provide cloud security posture management services for public cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

How to Choose a DSPM Solution

Selecting a DSPM solution can be a complex process, and organizations should consider a range of factors to ensure they choose the best solution for their needs. Here are some key considerations when selecting a DSPM solution:

Prefer cloud-native platforms: Organizations should consider cloud-native DSPM platforms that are easy to use and deploy, with a short time to value. These platforms should offer plug-and-play offerings to ensure security.
Discovering and managing shadow data: Organizations should choose a DSPM solution that has the capability to discover and manage shadow data. This requires an autonomous discovery approach that provides broad and deep coverage across all data assets, including on-premise and cloud environments. The solution should also contextualize data by providing detailed information on the data’s origin, usage, and sensitivity, allowing for prioritization based on risk factors and types of sensitivity.
Security capabilities: The solution should also provide security controls for cloud data, such as the ability to enforce security policies. It should provide data-centric visualizations and remediation guidelines to help address security issues.
Integration with other security tools: Organizations should choose a DSPM solution that integrates with other security tools, such as SIEM, ITSM, CIEM, and CSPM. This allows for a more holistic and comprehensive approach to data security posture management.
Compliance with relevant regulations and standards: Organizations should ensure that the DSPM solution they choose complies with relevant regulations and standards. The solution should also provide reports and dashboards to demonstrate compliance.

Flexibility and scalability: The DSPM solution should be flexible and scalable, allowing for customization and expansion as their needs evolve over time.