How to Build a DLP Program That Delivers

• Many teams struggle to launch DLP programs because they try to do too much at once; a recent SANS webinar shows how to start smart.
• A four-phase, business-aligned approach helps your DLP program show fast value while building toward long-term goals.
• Early wins and clear ownership are key to securing stakeholder buy-in and reducing resistance across teams.

If you were asked to build a Data Loss Prevention (DLP) program today, from scratch, where would you even start? With data zipping across SaaS applications, endpoints and GenAI tools, sensitive information moves faster than most security teams can track, making the task of locking it down feel insurmountable. But you don’t need to solve everything overnight.

Kevin Garvey, SANS Certified Instructor, and I laid out a cheat sheet to fast value in the recent SANS webinar, “Be a DLP Hero.” With the right starting points—by focusing on small, scalable changes—and stakeholder buy-in, you can build momentum and rack up wins with your DLP program. 

Here are the highlights of what you need to see value from the start. 

The four-phase DLP journey

Garvey was adamant: “You don’t have to do it all at once.” And for a good reason too—even small steps can pay major dividends. A solid DLP program may not be built in a day, but building it doesn’t have to take forever. To help your team grow with purpose, Garvey outlined a four-phase journey that’s easy to follow:

1. Understand your business - Align DLP with your mission, revenue drivers and obligations. 

2. Discern your data - Discover both expected and “should-never-be-there” data types, especially across SaaS and IaaS. 

3. Execute the program - Stand up initial policies, connecting the technical plumbing and piloting some use cases. 

4. Govern the program - Track the metrics that matter both to security and to other aspects of the business. 

A typical timeline will look like: 

• 0-3 months: Quick wins and foundations
• 3-6 months: Policy testing and stakeholder engagement
• 6-12 months: Full governance and scale

For starters, think like an attacker 

To get started on your DLP journey, ground your approach in the mission of your business—what you are protecting, and why it matters. From there, ask yourself four essential questions: 

• What data is most important?
• Where does it live?
• How does it move?
• How is it used?

Garvey recommends thinking like an attacker when mulling over those questions. What happens if payroll files land in the wrong inbox or if sensitive research data gets copied to a personal drive? This helps frame the real impact of data exposure and makes your case for change stronger. 

Your questioning should also consider data that’s tied to compliance requirements and strategic initiatives, so you can clearly identify risk areas, build protections for them and gain value quickly.

People, processes and technologies

A DLP program can’t run on tech alone. It needs the right people and tools working together to back it up. Start by: 

• Training up SOC responders and engaging architecture teams
• Implementing employee risk scoring to enforce policies and address risky behaviors
• Reviewing existing policies, documentation and feedback loops
• Selecting scalable tools that can integrate across environments
• Monitoring your tools' policy health and system uptime for effectiveness and efficiency

And of course, there are stakeholders. Legal, compliance, risk management and senior business leaders all have an important role to play. Getting that buy-in from leaders early on is key to accelerating adoption and keeping the program on track. 

How to navigate pushback

In our experience, stakeholders’ concerns about launching a whole DLP program typically fall into three categories: cost, ownership or complexity—especially if they’re unfamiliar with DLP.

Here’s how to navigate that pushback. Are your stakeholders concerned about:

• Cost of the program? Be transparent about upfront people, process and technology costs. Use similar past programs to help forecast scale and long-term ownership.
• Ownership of the program? Assign clear accountability using a RACI chart and build buy-in early from legal, risk, compliance and business leaders.
• Perceived complexity? Link DLP efforts to broader privacy or cloud security initiatives and focus on small, momentum-building wins.

Considering the rapid adoption of GenAI systems, another quick win for your stakeholders to consider is how GenAI governance fits into your DLP program. By extending DLP to monitor prompt-level risks and GenAI usage policies, you can demonstrate fast value and show leadership you’re thinking ahead.

Now govern your program

Once your DLP program gets the right buy-in and is in motion, governance is what keeps it strong. Track meaningful metrics (like incident types, response time and user behavior trends) and tailor reporting to your audience. The right data can help you effectively refine policies, demonstrate the program’s value and sustain stakeholder support.

Symantec DLP helps you get there

Symantec DLP is built to help administrators of modern, hybrid environments move fast and efficiently. With single-policy coverage across endpoints, network and cloud, you can act quickly without duplicating effort. Our advanced detection capabilities including Exact Data Matching (EDM), Indexed Document Matching (IDM), and advanced machine learning significantly reduce false positives, making it easier to focus on what truly matters.

Because 90% of DLP is incident response, we’ve streamlined every step. Our AI-powered risk analytics score users and incidents for faster triage, while one-click response workflows route incidents instantly, helping you prioritize and act fast—no more shifting between tools. Wherever you are in your journey, Symantec DLP lets you start small, prove value and stay in control. 

To further explore how Symantec DLP can jumpstart your information security journey, watch the on-demand webinar and download the whitepaper. 

It’s not too late to register for the next webinar in the series, “Defense in Depth: Multiple Layers of Protection Fortifying Your Cyber Defenses,” happening July 10th. Stay tuned for future posts as we continue to break it all down.