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## About Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

With the prevalence and damaging effects of data breaches, organizations now see digital asset protection as a critical component of their security infrastructure.
Data Loss Prevention safeguards an organization’s sensitive data against accidental or deliberate leakage. Data Loss Prevention allows you to:

- Identify the sensitive information that requires protection using data identifiers
- Create policies that limit or prevent the transmission of digital assets through common transmission channels, such as email and external devices
- Enforce compliance to established privacy standards

Before you can monitor sensitive information for potential loss, you must be able to answer the following questions:

- What data needs protection from unauthorized users?
- Where does the sensitive data reside?
- How is the sensitive data transmitted?
- What users are authorized to access or transmit the sensitive data?
- What action should be taken if a security violation occurs?

This important audit typically involves multiple departments and personnel familiar with the sensitive information in your organization.
If you already defined your sensitive information and security policies, you can begin to define data identifiers and company policies.