Lost or stolen laptops and now smart phones with unencrypted data account for many of the cases of compliance violations. Often the confidential data is inside an email. We recommend using an email security solution, such as Proofpoint, with integrated Data Loss Prevention (DLP) and policy-based encryption capabilities to minimize the risk of disclosing protected data.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) systems can identify emails and attachments with protected data like Patient IDs, SSNs, Credit Card numbers, etc. The majority regulatory compliance issues come from inadvertent data loss. We recommend a system that supports selective sender-based remediation. For example, a hospital administrator may attach a spreadsheet containing information on multiple patients. Options should include putting an temporarily stop on this message and sending a notification back to the sender alerting them of the content within the message, but also the ability to block that message permanently, the ability to release that message, or to encrypt that message before sending.
Policy-based email security solutions need to work with the various types of mobile devices that have proliferated within most organizations. The best approach is to scan emails at the gateway to assure all emails are checked whether they originate from a desktop or a mobile device. We like Proofpoint because recipients of encrypted emails are also treated to a mobile optimized experience. If recipients access their encrypted messages from a mobile device, optimized pages are displayed. No mobile-side, client software is required – ensuring that all recipients have the best mobile experience, regardless regardless of whether it is an iPhone, Android or Windows Mobile device, or Blackberry.
