WatchGuard adds data loss prevention service to appliances

Seattle-based unified threat management (UTM) solution provider WatchGuard Technologies is unveiling a data loss prevention (DLP) service for its appliances today, the company announced.

XTM Data Loss Prevention is intended to help keep data confidential and comply with business regulations across a number of geographies, including Canada. It’s made to help businesses prevent the accidental disclosure of sensitive data.

The service scans text and common file types looking to exit the network to detect potentially sensitive information such as credit card numbers. The service also offers WatchGuard users pre-configured rule sets. A library of more than 200 rules are designed to monitor multiple file types, adhere to various compliance laws in different jurisdictions, and detect different types of sensitive data.

WatchGuard is launching the service after conducting a survey of more than 2,1000 security professionals around the world, of which seven per cent were Canadian and 47 per cent were regulated by Canadian law. It found that more than 73 per cent didn’t have a DLP solution, yet 80 per cent are concerned about losing financial data. What is even more worrisome is that while 90 per cent of respondents store sensitive data in Microsoft Excel and 84 per cent store it in Microsoft Word, only 39 per cent were worried about accidental leakage.

“We are perpetually in communication with customers, prospective customers and partners about what services we should add next. Data Loss Prevention was one that we were hearing frequently and the survey results reflect that demand,” says Dave Taylor, vice-president of corporate strategy at WatchGuard in an e-mail response.

A "DLP wizard" helps stop the leakage of sensitive data. (Image provided by WatchGuard)
A “DLP wizard” helps stop the leakage of sensitive data. (Image provided by WatchGuard)

Users of WatchGuard’s XTM appliances will be able to access the new service, which WatchGuard has licenced from British security vendor Sophos. The service resides on the appliance but is updated periodically by connecting with WatchGuard’s cloud center. The service isn’t available on the older 2-Series products.

The service will have Canadian-ready filters available, Taylor promises. “Our solution can recognize personally identifiable information (PII) from many countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Singapore, and many more. For instance, our solution easily recognizes Canadian postal codes, Social Insurance numbers, and personal health care numbers,” he says.

The pre-configured rules approach was taken to make it as easy as possible for small and mid-sized enterprises to set up DLP, he adds. Users won’t be able to set up their own rules.

Canadian pricing for the DLP service is still being finalized, WatchGuard says, but it will be a subscription model. It is expected to be available in September.

Would you recommend this article?

Share

Thanks for taking the time to let us know what you think of this article!
We'd love to hear your opinion about this or any other story you read in our publication.


Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

Featured Download

Brian Jackson
Brian Jacksonhttp://www.itbusiness.ca
Editorial director of IT World Canada. Covering technology as it applies to business users. Multiple COPA award winner and now judge. Paddles a canoe as much as possible.

Featured Story

How the CTO can Maintain Cloud Momentum Across the Enterprise

Embracing cloud is easy for some individuals. But embedding widespread cloud adoption at the enterprise level is...

Related Tech News

Get ITBusiness Delivered

Our experienced team of journalists brings you engaging content targeted to IT professionals and line-of-business executives delivered directly to your inbox.

Featured Tech Jobs