• To stay compliant and secure, you need to follow data everywhere—in motion, at rest, and in use—which is no small feat in hybrid environments.
• Close gaps before attackers slip in with complete visibility, stronger identity controls, and consistent policies.
• Monitor and track your data and easily meet compliance with Symantec DLP, a top player in data loss prevention. 

In part one of our series, we explored why hybrid environments are chock-full of risky gaps, especially around policy enforcement and visibility. By 2026, 75% of organizations will adopt hybrid cloud strategies, Gartner predicts—yet only 23% claim full cloud visibility today. The race to see all and secure all in these environments is far from finished. 

Nowadays, sensitive data lives, moves, and is used literally everywhere—especially with AI tools used in more than 3 in 4 businesses (and counting). From cloud-native apps to on-premises systems, SaaS platforms, and APIs, data doesn’t stop moving. 

That kind of mobility is what's making identity-based attacks one of the fastest growing epidemics in cybersecurity—with 60% of breaches in 2024 involving stolen credentials. Exploiting legitimate logins, attackers slip in unnoticed, move laterally across environments, and feast on all the juicy data they come across.

Once an endpoint is compromised, the entire system is at risk. To stay secure and compliant, organizations must keep up with their data’s every move, armed with defenses that see all and protect all—especially in hybrid environments.

Why you should hop onto the data-tracking bandwagon 

Regulators don’t really care where your data lives, only that it’s secured and controlled. And attackers think much in the same way. That means compliance and security both hinge on one question: Are you following your data everywhere it goes? 

Too often, the answer is no, I’m not sure, or somewhat. Then hybrid sprawl piles on data-tracking headaches like:

• Gaps from limited visibility across cloud, on-prem, and devices. You can’t protect information you can’t see.
• Identity risks from stolen credentials, session cookies, and API keys. When access looks legit, data walks.
• Misconfigurations that leave databases exposed or accounts overprivileged—small errors that lead to big leaks.
• Legacy systems that strain interoperability with cloud-native tools, creating gaps where controls can’t follow data.
• Data governance and compliance challenges in enforcing audit trails and policy consistency across mobile, BYOD, and sprawling SaaS platforms. 

Given that data is everywhere, regulators expect airtight control and security everywhere too. When you don’t know where your data is, who has access, and how it’s moving, compliance reporting becomes costly guesswork. 

In 2024, the average cost of a breach hit 4.88M while fines under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) can now reach 20M or 4% of annual global turnover, raising the stakes to uncomfortable heights for any global business. 

As new regulations from Europe’s DORA to Asia’s maturing data privacy acts come online, businesses can’t afford to play catch-up to the latest. Falling behind on granular visibility means scrambling—and paying—later. The smarter play is to make compliance a byproduct, not a burden.

6 Ways to keep regulators and attackers alike off your back 

Even with better visibility, compliance efforts can fail if protection isn’t consistent across hybrid environments. Fragmented policies and siloed teams inevitably lead to uneven coverage, and attackers are always on the lookout for these types of gaps. Add in the sheer volume of data and endpoints most companies face, and it’s practically impossible for any one person (or even a team) to manage alone. But that doesn’t mean it’s all hopeless. 

To build the kind of visibility and control that makes data compliance second nature, focus on these five strategies: 

1. Strengthen identity controls to address risk of compromised credentials with a Zero Trust model.
2. Limit executive privileged access to reduce compliance risks and protect high-value targets (like your C-suite).
3. Classify and monitor sensitive data across the cloud and endpoints with data loss prevention (DLP) to stop leaks before they happen.
4. Unify adaptive policies for consistent access rules across your hybrid environments.
5. Automate wherever possible to push real-time policy updates at scale and shut down threats before they spread.
6. Start somewhere, anywhere—even if it’s not perfect—and accept that tradeoffs are part of the journey, especially early on.

Implementing these practices may take time, but an effective DLP solution that delivers all of the above can help you access quick wins and kickstart your pathway to compliance with ease. 

Keep business booming—safely 

Continuously monitoring your data is a pillar of strong hybrid security, but there’s no reason why it has to stay complicated. With Symantec DLP, tracking sensitive information and staying compliant is seamless. Recognized as a Top Player by IDC and Radicati, our DLP solution safeguards data in motion, at rest, and in use across your hybrid environment without added complexities. 

With advanced detection capabilities, rapid classification, and seamless integration, Symantec DLP closes compliance gaps and reduces manual effort. Your organization stays secure (without interruptions), while your security teams are free to focus on expanding Zero trust principles for airtight compliance and security. Restoring visibility and control to the thing that matters most, your data, has never looked so good. 

For a deeper look at how Zero Trust principles keep your data secure and compliant, watch the on-demand webinar, Navigating the Challenges of Securing Hybrid Environments.