Data security posture management (DSPM) refers to the tools, technologies, and processes used to monitor, manage, and secure data in the cloud.
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Organisations today are not only information-driven but also highly dependent on information stored in and shared through cloud environments. As a result, protecting sensitive, confidential, and proprietary data in the cloud has become a top priority.
Data security posture management (DSPM) encompasses a wide range of measures, protocols, and practices that businesses can put in place to safeguard cloud data.
Specifically, DSPM can: find and identify sensitive data in cloud and multi-cloud environments; control who has access to that data; mitigate any potential gaps or vulnerabilities in data security frameworks; and help strengthen your organisation’s overall data security posture.
Instead of focusing on protecting endpoint devices, networks, or applications, DSPM takes a data-first approach to identify, assess, and secure sensitive data that has been uploaded or shared across the total cloud environment.
Using authorisation and access controls, data loss prevention (DLP) tools, data encryption, identity and access management (IAM) processes, data masking, security information and event management (SIEM), and continuous monitoring and assessment of cloud data, DSPM can:
- Proactively prevent hacks, leaks, data theft, and data breaches
- Track and identify sources of duplicate and shadow data
- Reduce or eliminate over-entitlements and over-permissions for accessing sensitive data
- Identify missing, incomplete, or misconfigured settings in data security systems and cloud data storage
- Ensure compliance with all relevant government and industry data privacy regulations
- Protect sensitive or confidential data from falling victim to unauthorised access, data corruption, or theft
Why is DSPM an important part of modern cybersecurity?
With more and more data moving to cloud environments, DSPM gives businesses greater visibility into where their data is and who has access to it. It’s also a powerful new tool in helping organisations prevent data leaks and breaches in cloud, multi-cloud, and hybrid cloud environments, and keep critical or sensitive data assets from falling into the wrong hands.
The risks of a poor data security posture
Having a poor data security posture can open businesses up to serious and potentially far-reaching consequences, including:
- Vulnerability to data theft, breaches, and other cyberattacks
- Lasting brand or reputational damage
- Costly fines or legal penalties for failing to comply with data privacy regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
The role of DSPM in cybersecurity
In addition to managing and mitigating cyber risks for cloud data, DSPM can support your organisation’s cloud compliance, speed up your responsiveness to hacks and other threats, and ensure business continuity in the event of a cyberattack.
How does DSPM work?
Most data security posture management (DSPM) solutions follow the same five steps:
- Data discovery—the DSPM process begins by continuously scanning all on-premises servers and cloud environments to track, find, and identify sensitive or confidential data assets that need to be secured.
- Data classification—the data discovered is then classified according to a set of pre-determined criteria, such as how sensitive it is, how safely it’s being used or stored, who has access to it, and whether or not it falls under GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, CCPA, or other regulatory frameworks.
- Risk assessment—all data assets are analysed and assessed to determine if they have any urgent security vulnerabilities and assess their risk of being hacked, misconfigured, breached, or accessed without authorisation.
- Risk remediation—once risks have been identified, the related data assets are prioritised by level of risk and importance. Concrete steps can then be taken to reduce, remediate, or mitigate the potential risks and secure the data. This can include implementing measures like stronger authorisation and access controls, more advanced data encryption technologies, and data loss prevention (DLP) tools.
- Continuous monitoring and assessment—going forward, the use and movement of sensitive data assets is continuously monitored and assessed to flag any anomalies or abnormalities, identify potential threats or data security policy violations, and make sure security and cybersecurity measures are active, effective, and up to date.
To further enhance your organisation’s data security posture, DSPM solutions are generally designed to integrate with existing security and cybersecurity systems and practices. This enables DSPM solutions to work in tandem with other cybersecurity tools and technologies, including identity and access management (IAM), endpoint detection and response (EDR) threat detection and response, and security information and event management (SIEM).
What are the main challenges to implementing DSPM?
While the advantages are clear, organisations can face challenges when implementing a data security posture management strategy. These include:
- Dealing with limited visibility into the location, access controls, and permissions for sensitive data assets
- Managing shadow data and data sprawl across a variety of different cloud services, applications, and environments
- Handling large numbers of false positives and inaccurate red alerts to reduce “alert fatigue”
- Ensuring organisation-wide compliance with DSPM policies, practices, and regulations by employees, contractors, service providers, and other third parties
To overcome these obstacles, organisations need to develop a clear roadmap for how to develop, deploy, and implement a DSPM solution. They might also consider partnering with an experienced DSPM service provider to benefit from their expertise and take advantage of the latest data security measures, tools, and intelligence.
Once a DSPM solution is in place, an organisation should implement a clear and coherent policy to continuously train all security personnel in the goals, benefits, and best practices for data security, and spread awareness of the importance of DSPM policies and procedures among all employees who have access to sensitive or cloud-based data.
What is the future of DSPM?
Several trends and technologies are likely to shape the role and evolution of DSPM in the coming years. Evolving uses of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and artificial intelligence (AI) are already reshaping how sensitive data is stored, shared, and secured. As organisations adapt, DSPM will likely need to evolve to keep pace and respond to new and emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and vectors of attack.
DSPM solutions will rely increasingly on advanced AI technologies and machine learning to enhance threat detection and response, automate data security controls, and improve their data security posture.
Implementations of sero trust architectures, predictive analytics, and quantum computing will also all potentially affect how organisations secure sensitive or confidential data as they work to stay one step ahead of cybercriminals.
Where can I get help with data security posture management (DSPM)?
Trend Vision One™ Cloud Security is a powerful and comprehensive data security posture management platform for cloud, hybrid cloud, and multi-cloud environments.
Our Cloud Security gives a detailed view of data assets and controls, along with comprehensive management of cloud-based assets and systems, seamless integration with existing security and cybersecurity systems, and an unmatched ability to predict, detect, and respond to even the newest and most advanced cyber threats in real time.
In addition, Cloud Security’s centralised dashboards let you monitor exactly where your sensitive data is, control who has access to it in real time, and safeguard your entire attack surface from the threat of data breaches, hacks, and other cyberattacks.
With Cloud Security, your organisation can ensure your strategic goals are met with ease.
Fernando Cardoso
Vice President of Product Management
Fernando Cardoso is the Vice President of Product Management at Trend Micro, focusing on the ever-evolving world of AI and cloud. His career began as a Network and Sales Engineer, where he honed his skills in datacentres, cloud, DevOps, and cybersecurity—areas that continue to fuel his passion.
Bringing over 13 years of experience in the cybersecurity industry, Fernando has led numerous initiatives in cloud security, DevSecOps, and AI security, working closely with global customers and strategic partners like AWS, NVIDIA, and Microsoft. He is also a recognised thought leader and frequent speaker at global events, from AWS re:Invent to NVIDIA GTC and the AI Summit at Black Hat.
Fernando leads a global team of product managers, driving go-to-market strategies, conducting market research, and delivering innovations that continue to shape the future of secure, intelligent cloud environments.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
What is a data security posture?
A data security posture refers to the sum total of policies, tools, and systems in place to safeguard an organisation’s sensitive or confidential data.
What is posture management security?
Posture management security is a strategic approach to securing sensitive or confidential data from breaches, hacks, and cyberattacks.
What are the key components of data security posture management?
The key components of data security posture management (DSPM) are data discovery; data classification; risk assessment; risk remediation; and continuous monitoring and assessment.
How can organisations improve their data security posture?
Organisations can improve their data security posture by using automated access controls, data encryption technologies, and data loss prevention (DLP) tools to secure sensitive data.
How does DSPM differ from traditional data loss prevention (DLP) tools?
DSPM (data security posture management) offers a more comprehensive, strategic, and proactive approach to data security than traditional data loss prevention (DLP) tools.
What is the difference between DSPM and CSPM?
Data security posture management (DSPM) identifies and protects sensitive data. Cloud surface posture management (CSPM) identifies vulnerabilities in cloud infrastructure to secure cloud environments.
Can DSPM help detect shadow data or orphaned data assets?
Yes, DSPM (data security posture management) can find, detect, and manage both shadow data and orphaned data assets across a variety of cloud environments.
What types of data environments are most at risk without DSPM?
Without a data security posture management (DSPM) strategy, cloud, multi-cloud, and hybrid cloud environments are at risk of having sensitive data stolen or compromised.
Is DSPM effective in multi-cloud or hybrid cloud environments?
Yes, DSPM (data security posture management) is a highly effective way to protect data in all cloud environments, including multi-cloud and hybrid clouds.
What role does DSPM play in insider threat detection?
DSPM (data security posture management) can help detect insider threats by letting organisations track where their data is and control who has access to it.
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