You’re running a massive warehouse, but instead of physical goods, it’s filled with data. Spread out across shelves and tucked into storage units, it’s all constantly moving between locations. Some of that data is harmless, like office supplies, but some of it is incredibly valuable, like gold bars. Additionally, those warehouses aren’t just in one location —they’re scattered across the world, in different countries and cloud environments. Trying to keep track of where all that data is, who’s accessing it, and whether it’s secure becomes an overwhelming task. Welcome, Data Security Posture Management (DSPM). DSPM acts like a global logistics and security system, helping companies locate their “gold,” monitoring who’s handling it, and ensuring it’s locked down tight, no matter where it’s stored.
DSPM isn’t one tool but a suite of curated tools guided by a carefully planned data protection strategy. Before getting detailed, consider the two pillars.
- Strategy: DSPM is a centralized security strategy that focuses on providing complete visibility and management of data security risks across an organization. It addresses the growing complexities of data management by presenting a more comprehensive understanding of data risks and protection needs.
- Tools: There are multiple tools and platforms, each offering various features aligned with the strategy. These tools automate tasks such as data discovery, classification, risk assessment, access control, and continuous monitoring.
While DSPM can be considered a framework, it’s not an official one, unlike established frameworks such as NIST or ISO that are prescriptive. DSPM is an emerging field where tools and best practices are used to achieve comprehensive data visibility and security posture management.
Strategy
Businesses now have their data spread all over the world. The complexity of data sprawl (both structured (e.g., database) and unstructured (e.g., documents, images) spread across different platforms), along with the growing number of regulations around data privacy, requires advanced solutions.
Why another strategy? Because of the growth and expansion of data security needs. By 2026, no small amount of businesses – 20% – “will prioritize DSPM technologies and use them to discover and secure their data repositories, both known and unknown.”
Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) is one way for organizations to get a clearer view of their data security, helping companies identify where their sensitive data is located, how it’s being accessed, and whether it’s protected against threats.
Key Components
Like any strategy, there are many moving conceptual components involved.
- Data Discovery: Data discovery is the process of finding and identifying where all the sensitive data is stored within an organization. This includes data stored on servers, in the cloud, and even on employees’ devices. By knowing where this data is located, businesses can better protect it.
- Data Classification: Data classification involves sorting and labeling data based on its sensitivity, such as “public,” “internal,” “confidential,” and “highly sensitive.” This helps organizations understand which data needs the most protection and which data can be shared more freely. By classifying data, businesses can apply appropriate security measures based on how sensitive the information is.
- Risk Assessment and Management: Risk assessment and management help organizations understand vulnerabilities—like weak passwords or unpatched software—that could put sensitive information at risk. After identifying risks, organizations can develop mitigation strategies.
- Access Control and Permissions Management: Who can access specific data, and what can they do with it? By carefully managing access permissions, organizations can prevent unauthorized users from viewing or altering sensitive information. Think “least privilege.”
- Continuous Monitoring and Alerts: Continuous monitoring and alerts involve keeping an eye on data and systems at all times to detect any suspicious activity. This means looking for unusual access patterns, unauthorized changes, or potential breaches. If something strange happens—like someone trying to access sensitive data without permission— alerts notify the security team so they can respond quickly.
Tools For These Components
DSPM is about taking a holistic view of the organization’s security state. Its primary focus is on proactively identifying and managing risks before they can be exploited. Whether data security, cloud configurations, or access controls, the tools help organizations understand their overall security health and identify any vulnerabilities or misconfigurations that could be a potential threat. The goal? Prevent problems from occurring by continuously improving security controls and compliance measures.
Because DSPM is part of a layered defense strategy, there’s no one tool that will solve the concerns. Businesses must focus on tools that support control and visibility for their data structure (often multi-cloud) and control.
There are two important factors to keep in mind here: comparison and implementation.
Comparison
The proposed solution should contain relevant criteria for selection, such as scalability, integration with cloud services, and automation. It should also include considerations for the organization’s complex – usually hybrid – data environments.
Implementation
Implementation will be a gotcha moment if the following aren’t under consideration: What steps are needed to integrate DSPM tools with existing security architecture? As well as, is the DSPM strategy effectively aligned with organizational goals?
How Does DSPM Differ From Other Data Security Approaches?
When reading and thinking about DSPM, there are other related terms that seem to cover the issue, yet they are distinct in their approach and coverage. This short list of differences may prove helpful when researching solutions.
- DSPM vs. Data Loss Prevention (DLP): DSPM focuses on holistic risk management, while DLP focuses on preventing data leakage. DSPM is proactive (securing data), while DLP is reactive (preventing leaks).
- DSPM vs. Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM): CSPM focuses on infrastructure security (e.g., cloud configurations), and DSPM focuses on data security within that infrastructure. Both DSPM and CSPM aim for visibility and compliance but target different assets.
- DSPM and Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC): DSPM provides actionable insights into data risks, which help support GRC initiatives by aligning DSPM insights with compliance standards like GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI-DSS.
Moving Forward
To move forward successfully with Data Security Posture Management, be sure to prioritize visibility, proactive risk management, and continuous monitoring. By integrating an appropriate DSPM strategy into your security operations, you’ll be better equipped to protect sensitive information, meet compliance demands, and stay ahead of emerging threats.
Author Bio
Ross Moore is the Cyber Security Support Analyst with Passageways. He holds ISC2’s SSCP and CompTIA’s Pentest+ certifications, a B.S. in Cyber Security and Information Assurance from WGU, and a B.A. in Bible/Counseling from Johnson University.
