DLP Lexicon
A comprehensive glossary of Data Loss Prevention terminology, concepts, and best practices to help you navigate the world of data security and protection. Terms and definitions applicable to modern DLP solutions including FortiDLP.
A
Access Control
Security technique that regulates who or what can view or use resources in a computing environment.
API Integration
Programmatic interfaces that enable DLP solutions to connect with and monitor third-party applications and services.
B
Baseline User Behavior
Established patterns of normal user activity used as a reference point for detecting anomalous behavior.
Behavioral Analytics
Advanced analysis technique that identifies anomalous user behavior patterns to detect potential data breaches.
C
Cloud-Native DLP
Data Loss Prevention solutions designed specifically for cloud environments and SaaS applications.
Content Discovery
Automated process of locating and cataloging sensitive data across an organization's IT infrastructure.
Cross-Platform Data Protection
Unified data security approach that provides consistent protection across different operating systems and platforms.
D
Data at Rest
Information that is stored on physical or virtual storage devices and not actively moving through networks.
Data Exfiltration
Unauthorized transfer or copying of sensitive data from an organization's systems to external locations.
Data in Motion
Data that is actively moving from one location to another across networks or between systems.
Data in Use
Active data that is being processed, accessed, or manipulated by applications and users.
Data Loss Prevention as a Service (DLPaaS)
Cloud-delivered data protection services that provide comprehensive DLP capabilities without on-premises infrastructure.
Data Origin Tracking
Technology that maintains the source and lineage information of data throughout its lifecycle and transformations.
Data Residency
Legal and regulatory requirements governing the physical storage location of data.
Data Risk Analytics
Advanced analysis and reporting capabilities that provide insights into data-related risks and compliance status.
Device Quarantine
Security response action that isolates compromised or high-risk devices from network access while preserving evidence.
E
Employee Coaching
Real-time user education and guidance provided at the point of potential policy violations.
Endpoint Agent
Software component installed on user devices to monitor and control data activities at the endpoint level.
Exact Data Match (EDM)
Precise matching technique that identifies specific sensitive data elements using exact pattern recognition.
F
False Positive
Incorrectly flagged content that appears to violate DLP policies but is actually legitimate.
Fingerprinting
Technique that creates unique digital signatures of documents to enable precise identification and tracking.
Forensic Evidence Collection
Systematic gathering and preservation of digital evidence for security investigations and compliance purposes.
G
GDPR Compliance
Adherence to the General Data Protection Regulation requirements for personal data protection and privacy.
GenAI Protection
Specialized security measures designed to protect sensitive data when using generative artificial intelligence tools.
I
Incident Response
Structured approach to handling and managing data security incidents and policy violations.
Insider Risk Management
Comprehensive approach to identifying, monitoring, and mitigating risks posed by internal users with legitimate access to systems.
K
Keyword Matching
Basic detection method that identifies sensitive content based on predefined keywords and phrases.
M
Machine Learning
Advanced AI technique that improves detection accuracy through automated learning from data patterns.
Multi-Tenant Architecture
Cloud infrastructure design that securely serves multiple organizations from a single software instance.
N
Network DLP
Security solution that monitors and controls data transmission across network infrastructure.
O
OCR (Optical Character Recognition)
Technology that extracts text from images and scanned documents for content analysis.
P
PII (Personally Identifiable Information)
Information that can be used to identify, contact, or locate a specific individual.
Policy Engine
Core component that evaluates content against defined rules and determines appropriate enforcement actions.
Policy-Free Visibility
Comprehensive data monitoring and analysis without requiring predefined policies or rules.
Pseudonymization
Data protection technique that replaces identifying information with artificial identifiers while maintaining data utility.
Q
Quarantine
Isolation mechanism that temporarily holds suspicious content for review and analysis.
R
Regular Expressions
Pattern matching language used to define complex search criteria for sensitive data detection.
Risk Scoring
Methodology for quantifying and prioritizing security risks based on various threat factors.
Risk-Informed User Education
Targeted security training and awareness programs based on individual user risk profiles and behavior patterns.
S
Sandboxing
Isolated environment for safely analyzing suspicious files and content without risk to production systems.
Secure Data Flow
Advanced tracking methodology that follows data movement and transformations across systems while maintaining security context.
Shadow AI
Unauthorized or unmanaged use of artificial intelligence tools and applications within an organization.
T
Tokenization
Data protection technique that replaces sensitive data with non-sensitive placeholder tokens.
U
User Activity Monitoring
Comprehensive tracking and analysis of user interactions with data and systems.
W
Watermarking
Technique that embeds identifying information into documents for tracking and attribution purposes.
Z
Zero Trust Architecture
Security model that assumes no implicit trust and continuously verifies every transaction.