DSPM vs. DLP: Which is right for your organization?

Data security posture management and data loss prevention are two data-centric security tools that promise to revolutionize how organizations discover, secure, and manage sensitive information. On the surface, they seem similar—interchangeable, even—but they’re actually very different. And if you choose the wrong one, you could risk leaving your organizations vulnerable to data exfiltration and leaks. 

With that in mind, in this guide, we’ll dive into all things DSPM vs DLP, helping you understand what each tool is, how they work, how they differ, and how to choose the best fit for your enterprise’s needs. 

Let’s dive in. 

What is DSPM?

As noted by Gartner, “Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) provides visibility into where sensitive data resides, who has access, how it’s being used, and the security posture of the stored data or application.” 

While the term DSPM may be relatively new, the principles behind it are far from groundbreaking. In fact, DSPM takes the foundational concepts of on-premises data security and adapts them for modern cloud environments—spanning SaaS applications, generative AI tools, and cloud databases.

Here are the key features: 

• Sensitive data discovery: DSPM begins by scanning your infrastructure to identify where sensitive data lives, including Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Protected Health Information (PHI). This is crucial for creating a baseline understanding of your data security landscape.
• Classification and prioritization: Once sensitive data is discovered, DSPM classifies it according to risk level, allowing you to prioritize your most valuable assets while maintaining productivity. 
• Access control management: DSPM gives you a clear view of who has data access, and enables you to implement and maintain least-privilege policies. This reduces exposure to potential threats and minimizes the risk of unauthorized access.
• Risk-based data protection: DSPM discovers risks like misconfigured data stores and enforces security measures tailored to the unique risks of each data type and environment. 
• Continuous risk monitoring: DSPM offers continuous, real-time monitoring of your data security posture, adapting to changes and identifying emerging risks as they appear.

What is DLP?

Data loss prevention (DLP) safeguards your organization’s sensitive information from unauthorized access, breaches, or leaks. It achieves this by monitoring data activity in real-time to identify potential vulnerabilities. It then enforces predefined security policies to prevent unauthorized disclosures before they happen.

At its core, DLP provides:

• Data discovery: DLP continuously monitors both structured and unstructured data across different channels—be it in the cloud, endpoints or your network. The system scans for sensitive information, applying predefined policies to detect potential risks and mitigate them in real time. 
• Data classification: DLP tools categorize your data based on sensitivity, looking for information that is either sensitive because it’s PII, PHI or financial, or considered intellectual property. This classification extends to user privileges, ensuring contextual access to data is enabled based on roles. 
• Encryption, redaction, and blocking: When data interactions violate security policies, DLP tools automatically step in—blocking the action, encrypting the data, or redacting sensitive information. All of these measures prevent unauthorized access or download, ensuring that only authorized individuals can view or use sensitive data. 
• Reporting and auditing: DLP solutions provide detailed logs, which are invaluable for auditing and compliance purposes. These reports also help organizations track potential security incidents, identify patterns, and strengthen their security posture over time. 

Benefits of DSPM and DLP

So far, we’ve discussed how each of these solutions work. But how do they benefit you, as an organization? Here’s a closer look at the pros and cons of each solution 

DSPM: The pros

• Visibility: As data spreads across SaaS applications, cloud platforms, and AI tools, DSPM offers the visibility needed to know exactly where sensitive information lives and how it’s being used, helping you stay ahead of data security challenges whilst embracing cloud tools for productivity. 
• Compliance: Regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA demand a high standard of data protection—and falling short isn’t an option. DSPM simplifies the process by continuously monitoring your data environment, ensuring every security gap is addressed, and providing the reports and audits you need to demonstrate compliance.
• Threat management: DSPM scan for risks in real-time—both accidental and intentional. Such risks include unexpected access to data or changes in usage patterns. This helps you detect and address potential risks before they become full-scale breaches.

DSPM: The cons 

• Not a one-size-fits-all solution: While DSPM offers valuable visibility, it’s not a standalone solution. To build a robust cloud security posture, it needs to be integrated with other tools and strategies for comprehensive protection.
• Resource-heavy: Without strong AI and automation, DSPM tools can add to the strain on already overburdened IT teams, demanding significant manual effort for data classification and ongoing management.
• Complex implementation: Deploying DSPM tools can be a daunting task. If a solution is complex, failure to launch is likely—leading to wasted time and money spent on a pilot initiative. 

DLP: The pros

• Insider threat management: Human error is the number one cause of data breaches. Employees may unwittingly share sensitive data with the wrong person, open a phishing email or use poor password practices. DLP defends against this risk by autonomously monitoring how data is accessed and shared, ensuring that security policies are consistently enforced—and risky or unusual behavior is quarantined before a leak of breach. 
• Compliance: DLP simplifies compliance by ensuring sensitive information is handled correctly, in line with your unique compliance obligations. Detailed reporting and audit further support compliance, making it easier for organizations to show proof of their efforts.
• Data breach prevention: Cybercriminals tend to prefer ‘low hanging fruit’, and a compromised password is the easiest way to exfiltrate sensitive data. Thankfully,  DLP serves as a proactive defense mechanism: monitoring for unusual user activity in order to discover and prevent account hijacking from turning into data theft.  

DLP: The cons

• False positives: Traditional DLP tools often rely on RegEx expressions, which are prone to generating false positives and overwhelming security teams with excessive alerts. A combination of NLP and RegEx is needed for higher accuracy and fewer false alarms.
• Network-focused: Many traditional DLP solutions are designed primarily for network environments, leaving cloud-based data vulnerable and unprotected in apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams.
• Complex to deploy and manage: Some DLP tools can be difficult to integrate into existing systems, creating additional complexity for security teams instead of alleviating the burden. 

Key Differences Between DSPM and DLP

At this point, you might feel slightly confused. DSPM and DLP share a lot of overlaps. Here’s how to differentiate the two: 

DSPM: Strategic view: DSPM provides an organization-wide view of your company’s data landscape in the cloud. It helps identify where sensitive data is stored, how it’s being used, and what risks it faces across the cloud ecosystem. With this bird’s-eye view, DSPM enables organizations to prioritize security based on real-time risk and allocate resources more effectively. 

DLP: Tactical enforcer: DLP operates at a more tactical level. While DSPM provides the insights, DLP acts as the ‘man on the ground’, enforcing security policies in real-time. Whether it’s blocking, redacting, or encrypting data, DLP ensures that sensitive information is securely stored and accessed in line with your compliance policies.

Together, DSPM and DLP form a powerful duo: DSPM gives organizations the strategic visibility they need to manage data risks effectively, while DLP provides the real-time, tactical defense needed to prevent data breaches and ensure ongoing compliance.

How DSPM Complements DLP

DSPM and DLP are both essential for a solid data security strategy, but their real power comes when they’re used together. Instead of choosing one over the other, organizations can maximize security by integrating both. Here’s why this approach makes sense:

Visibility meets control
By combining DSPM and DLP, organizations can take a strategic approach to data security. DSPM provides visibility into where sensitive data resides and how it’s being used, while DLP enforces safeguards. The result is a more accurate, contextual defense that reduces the risk of data breaches without forsaking employee productivity. 

Simplified compliance
DSPM and DLP harmonize to strengthen cloud compliance efforts, equipping you with comprehensive (but, importantly, unified) reporting and analysis tools. With this enhanced visibility and automated reporting, it becomes seamless to monitor data usage and ensure transparency, which is vital for showcasing compliance with mandates like HIPAA and the GDPR.

Threat awareness
With an enhanced view of where data resides and how it’s being used, organizations are able to proactively understand the sources of data security and compliance risks, while actively mitigating them. Better still, with the right solution, this process will be low-touch. Leading solutions use AI to automate the discovery and mitigation of risks, which we’ll discuss more in the next section. 

Integrating DSPM and DLP for comprehensive security

Choosing between DSPM and DLP shouldn’t be a question of either/or. Instead, organizations should integrate both solutions.

Next-gen providers now offer cloud-native DSPM and DLP solutions as one unified whole, giving organizations the best of both worlds. However, the same cons that applied to DSPM and DLP separately still apply when they are unified. With that in mind, organizations must be careful about the solution they choose for. 

So, here’s what to look for in a combined DSPM and DLP solution. 

AI-enhanced data discovery, classification, and monitoring
Leading DSPM and DLP solutions rely on AI and automation to supercharge visibility and management of the data lifecycle. These solutions combine data classification with user monitoring to generate real-time risk scores for sensitive data, giving you deeper insights into potential threats. Because these tools are smart, they can take care of accidental insider risks autonomously, only sounding the alarm when a risk seems suspicious or particularly dangerous. 

Out-of-the-box compliance
The best DSPM and DLP solutions come equipped with pre-built compliance templates, making it easy for you to align your data security efforts with regulatory requirements in just minutes. These solutions are also often low-code, reducing the need for complex configurations and enabling teams to deploy robust security measures with minimal effort. 

Automated reporting
Traditional reporting can be cumbersome to say the least. Top DSPM and DLP solutions streamline this by automating audit reports, providing clear, organized logs of data access, threat detections, and compliance checks in line with your unique regulatory requirements. This cuts down on administrative workload and keeps you audit-ready at all times. 

Human risk management integration
No security solution is truly complete without considering the human element. The best DSPM and DLP systems recognize this, integrating Human Risk Management (HRM) features to address employee behavior. HRM tools automate security training and provide real-time, context-sensitive nudges when risky behavior is detected, offering corrective actions right when they’re needed. Over just a few weeks, HRM tools can reduce negligent data security behaviors by more than 40%, helping you to build an all-important culture of security. 

Introducing Polymer data security 

Polymer DLP delivers everything you need to secure your sensitive data in the cloud and beyond—integrating both Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) and Data Loss Prevention (DLP) into one seamless, AI-powered solution. 

With Polymer DLP, you get NLP-enhanced data discovery and classification that adapts to contextual factors like user identities and actions, helping you assess risk in real time. The platform’s automated compliance templates, low-code features, and automated audit reporting streamline management, reduce complexity, and ensure you’re always audit-ready.

Ready to see how Polymer DLP can transform your data security strategy? Request a free demo today and experience the power of integrated DSPM and DLP for yourself.