Data-Centric Audit Protection (DCAP) Software
Best Data-Centric Audit Protection (DCAP) Software include:
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What is Data-Centric Audit Protection?
Data-Centric Audit Protection, or DCAP, refers to a software approach that involves protecting user information. Specifically, DCAP focuses on data classification, data security governance, secure data storage, and the protection of sensitive data from unauthorized access. They are capable of facilitating the tracking of sensitive data points and providing internal audits to ensure company compliance. These software systems benefit users from various industries that contain confidential data. For example, health care companies use DCAP to protect patient health information from internal and external threats and hackers.
DCAP is often used as an insider risk management software in addition to other security features. When used for insider risk management, a DCAP product may fill a security gap left by a Data Loss Prevention (DLP) tool, since DLPs are extremely effective in protecting against external threat actors, but can be easily worked around by a malicious insider. DCAP tools allow for suspicious behavior to be monitored without constantly monitoring individual users. Most DCAP solutions allow for investigation into individuals after an alert is raised, which may be a better fit for more privacy-minded individuals or companies since this solution allows you to look at a suspicious user without constantly tracking employee activity and behavior.
An advantage to DCAP tools is that their alerts often provide useful context. In addition to flagging suspicious data movement, DCAP tools will often tell you if the data was moved within a trusted domain or to an unknown device, as well as the user that initiated the movement. Alerts with sufficient context make it easier for a security team to investigate when necessary, as they don’t need to gather that context themselves, and already have a good idea of what they should be looking for when they begin their investigations.
Data-Centric Audit Protection features
Many of the DCAP software products have similar features including:
- File following
- Data behavior analysis
- Alerting & blocking
- File type support
- Risk exposure notification
- Policies and controls
- Real-time alerting
- Data exfiltration detection
- Data classification & discovery
- User profiles
- History activity logs
Data-Centric Audit Protection comparison
Consider the following factors when shopping around for the right DCAP products:
- Industry: There are some DCAP solutions that would be better off serving users within a specific industry. Forcepoint’s Data Guard, for example, has features that assist with enforcing compliance, making it a good fit for compliance managers. Ensure that the specialized features of the product you select suit the type of data your industry is seeking to protect, as securing personal health information requires a different approach than securing intellectual property.
- Company size: Your business size will impact your security needs immensely. A DCAP solution may be more beneficial to a larger company that doesn’t want to continuously monitor large numbers of employees, as they would with a UEBA, and would prefer to focus on data behavior instead. On the other hand, the context provided in DCAP alerts may help a mid-sized company with a smaller security team investigate more effectively.
- DCAP vs. UEBA: DCAP products focus on monitoring the behavior of data and patterns of data movement, while UEBA tools focus on monitoring the behavior of users and entities. Both are effective security tools, and can be complementary, but purchasing both can be costly. DCAP tools allow for continuous monitoring for security risk, without constantly monitoring individual employees, while some UBEA tools can be used for security and employee productivity purposes.
Pricing Information
Pricing for DCAP products vary significantly based on the use-case and the type of solution selected. For example, a standalone DCAP product is going to cost less than a product with both DCAP and DLP or UEBA features. Larger enterprises may opt for multiple security tools that use different methodologies, while smaller and mid-market businesses may find that one product is able to cover all of their needs. Generally, products are priced based on the quantity of data and users monitored.