Prevent Database Leaks

Most information leaks, even those that occur via stolen laptops or emailing sensitive information, originate with unauthorized or unusual queries to critical databases. Organizations typically have formal access policies that govern how and when sensitive data is accessed, but lack practical solutions for detecting or blocking activities that fall outside these policies. As a result, many organizations experience leakage of valuable information such as credit card data, customer records and employee personally identifiable information (PII).

Unlike Data Leak Prevention (DLP) solutions that watch data as it leaves the network perimeter via email or USB devices, InfoSphere Guardium’s leak prevention solution addresses leakage at the source—in the data center itself—using three essential technologies supported across database platforms from eight vendors:

• Data Extrusion Monitoring: Unlike other Database Activity Monitoring (DAM) solutions, InfoSphere Guardium is able to monitor all inbound requests to the database and all returned data to detect any transactions that violate policy or represent unusual activity. Policies to track data access over time periods are easily specified to prevent the “data sipping” approach used by hackers and insiders to evade detection.
• Database Access Prevention: InfoSphere Guardium uniquely offers a wide range of actions to prevent inappropriate transactions in real-time, ranging from automatic transaction blocking and user quarantine, to real-time alerts and extended auditing.
• Auto-Discovery: To ensure real-time data leak prevention policies always encompass all instances of sensitive data, IBM’s solution includes automated mechanisms to find and classify sensitive data, including new instances created by developers, administrators and users.