Endpoint Protector DLP: Features, Pros, Cons & Alternatives

Organizations are constantly at risk of sensitive information falling into the wrong hands. Whether it’s personally identifiable data, financial records, or intellectual property, the consequences of a data breach can be severe—from regulatory penalties to reputational damage and loss of customer trust. 

This is where data loss prevention (DLP) solutions come into play. By monitoring and controlling the movement of confidential data across an organization’s endpoints, DLP software helps mitigate the risk of data leakage and ensures compliance with privacy regulations. One notable player in this space is CoSoSys Endpoint Protector, an enterprise-grade DLP offering that aims to secure data across Windows, macOS, and Linux environments. In this piece, we’ll look closer at its key features, advantages, potential drawbacks, and how it stacks up against alternative solutions.

What is Endpoint Protector DLP?

Endpoint Protector is a DLP solution designed to safeguard confidential data and intellectual property on Mac, Windows & Linux endpoints. It helps prevent data leakage and theft while enabling compliance with data protection regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS.

The software takes a modular approach, allowing organizations to implement the specific data protection capabilities they need. Its client-server architecture simplifies deployment and centralized management via a web-based interface. Endpoint Protector can be installed on-premises or hosted in the cloud.

Features

• Data Loss Prevention: Monitors and controls sensitive data transfers based on file type, application, content, regular expressions, and more.
• Device Control: Manages access to portable storage devices such as USB drives, printers, smartphones, and other peripheral ports and devices. Granular rights can be set per device, user, computer, or group.
• Content-Aware Protection: Inspects data in motion and enforces policies based on predefined and custom content like credit card numbers, SSNs, keywords, and dictionaries. It includes features like printer DLP and optical character recognition.
• Enforced Encryption: Automatically encrypts data copied to USB storage devices using AES 256-bit encryption. It also provides cross-platform, password-based protection.
• eDiscovery: Scans data at rest on network endpoints and applies remediation actions like encryption or deletion when confidential info is detected. It offers predefined content filters and reporting tools.

Pros

Endpoint Protector offers several advantages that make it an effective DLP solution:

Easy to Use & Deploy

Getting started with Endpoint Protector is fairly straightforward. The software can be up and running within 30 minutes and is accessible to both technical and non-technical personnel. The centralized web dashboard provides an intuitive interface for defining and managing data protection policies across the entire network. Endpoint Protector also integrates with Active Directory to simplify large-scale deployments.

Multiple Deployment Options

Organizations have flexibility in how they implement Endpoint Protector. The solution can be deployed on-premises using hardware or a virtual appliance. Alternatively, the server can be cloud-hosted on platforms like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.

Support for Predefined and Custom Content

Out of the box, Endpoint Protector includes predefined policies and dictionaries to detect common sensitive data like financial and personally identifiable information. This enables organizations to safeguard regulated content and demonstrate compliance quickly. Admins can also create custom policies using advanced criteria like keywords, regular expressions, and file metadata. Filters can be set based on file location, MIME type, and true file type to reduce false positives.

Real-time Blocking

When Endpoint Protector detects an attempt to transfer files that violate DLP rules, it immediately blocks the action in real time. This capability is critical for preventing accidental and malicious data leaks before they occur. The agent can also provide notifications to educate users about unsafe data handling practices. Administrators have granular controls to temporarily allow certain actions when needed for valid business purposes.

Cons

While Endpoint Protector offers a range of data protection features, it has some notable limitations compared to other leading DLP solutions. These include:

Limited Monitoring Capabilities

Endpoint Protector’s monitoring capabilities have room for improvement. The software primarily focuses on device control and file transfers, lacking more granular insights into user actions within applications.

Basic Insider Threat Prevention

Endpoint Protector’s insider threat prevention features are relatively basic. While the software can enforce data transfer policies, it may struggle to detect more sophisticated insider threats like data exfiltration through other channels like emails and social media.

Limited App Coverage

Endpoint Protector fails to provide adequate protection and monitoring for some third-party and proprietary applications. Insufficient app coverage can create blind spots in an organization’s data protection strategy. Sensitive data processed or stored within unsupported applications may be left exposed and vulnerable to leakage.

No Remote Desktop Control

Endpoint Protector does not offer remote desktop control features, which can be valuable for incident response and user support. In the event of a suspected data breach or policy violation, security teams may need to quickly access and control a user’s device to investigate and contain the incident.

No UEBA Support

User and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) is an increasingly important component of modern DLP solutions. UEBA helps detect insider threats and data breaches that may evade rule-based policies by baselining normal user behavior and identifying anomalies.

However, Endpoint Protector does not appear to incorporate UEBA capabilities. This absence may limit the software’s ability to uncover subtle or unknown data loss vectors, particularly those involving malicious insiders or compromised accounts.

Can’t Record Screens

Screen recording is another useful feature for insider threat detection and incident investigation that is missing from Endpoint Protector. Without native screen recording functionality, Endpoint Protector customers may struggle to definitively attribute data leaks to specific users or establish an audit trail for compliance and legal purposes.

8 Alternatives to Endpoint Protector 

In the following section, we will discuss 8 alternatives to Endpoint Protector, each with its unique strengths and capabilities in data loss prevention.

1. Teramind
2. Proofpoint DLP
3. DTEX inTERCEPT
4. Code42 Incydr
5. Trellix DLP
6. Nightfall DLP
7. Digital Guardian
8. Symantec DLP

1. Teramind

Teramind is a comprehensive insider threat prevention, data loss prevention, and employee monitoring solution that empowers organizations to detect and mitigate internal security risks while optimizing workforce productivity. By leveraging advanced behavior analytics, real-time monitoring, and automated response capabilities, Teramind provides unparalleled visibility into user activities across various channels, including applications, websites, email, and file transfers.

With our user-friendly interface, extensive customization options, and robust rule engine, Teramind enables security teams to establish tailored policies, detect anomalous behavior, and promptly respond to potential threats. The platform’s scalability and flexible cloud deployment options suit organizations of all sizes, ensuring data protection and compliance across the enterprise.

Features

• Data Loss Prevention: Teramind’s behavioral DLP capabilities are focused on protecting against the unauthorized transmission of sensitive information, employing advanced techniques to detect and block potential data leaks before they occur.
• Employee Monitoring: Teramind captures detailed data on employee activities across a wide range of system objects, including web pages, applications, emails, console commands, file transfers, and even on-screen content through advanced optical character recognition (OCR) capabilities.
• User and Entity Behavior Analytics: Teramind’s UEBA engine leverages advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques to create baseline user behavior profiles. It dynamically evaluates risk levels by identifying anomalies and deviations from these baselines, proactively detecting and mitigating potential insider threats.
• Remote Desktop Control: Administrators can remotely control user desktops, enabling them to troubleshoot security issues or provide training assistance. 
• Real-time Alerts & Prevention: The system generates immediate notifications when suspicious activities are detected, enabling swift response to potential threats. It can also automatically block or prevent harmful actions based on predefined rules, minimizing the impact of security incidents.
• Screen Recording & Playback: Teramind records user activity on screens, providing a comprehensive audit trail. These recordings can be reviewed for various purposes, such as training, regulatory compliance, or incident investigation.

2. Proofpoint DLP

Proofpoint DLP is a solution that adopts a people-centric approach to mitigate data loss risks originating from human behavior across multiple channels, including email, cloud applications, and endpoints. By combining content analysis, user behavior monitoring, and threat intelligence, Proofpoint DLP provides deep visibility into user activities and intent, enabling effective detection and prevention of data loss incidents.

Features

• User and Entity Behavior Analytics: Proofpoint Enterprise DLP leverages UEBA to detect anomalous user behavior and identify potential insider threats, enabling proactive risk mitigation and incident prevention.
• Intelligent Classification and Protection: Integration with Proofpoint’s AI-powered data discovery, classification, and automated labeling solution enhances DLP capabilities, ensuring accurate identification and protection of sensitive data across various channels.
• Managed Services and Program Design: Proofpoint offers expert-led managed services and program design assistance to optimize DLP implementation, governance, incident management, and reporting, augmenting an organization’s data protection efforts.

Read more: The 8 Best Proofpoint Alternatives

3. DTEX inTERCEPT

DTEX inTERCEPT is an innovative workforce cyber security solution that focuses on human intent and activity to mitigate insider threats, data loss, and compliance risks. By combining the capabilities of insider threat management, user and entity behavior analytics, digital forensics, and behavioral analysis into a single cloud-native platform, DTEX inTERCEPT provides contextual intelligence to identify and respond to potential security incidents effectively.

Features

• Behavioral Data Loss Prevention: DTEX inTERCEPT employs behavioral intent intelligence to accurately detect and prevent data exfiltration attempts, ensuring sensitive information remains secure.
• Dynamic Risk Scoring: The platform’s advanced analytics engine assigns dynamic risk scores to user activities, enabling security teams to prioritize investigations and respond to high-risk events promptly.
• Privacy-Compliant Monitoring: DTEX inTERCEPT collects only essential metadata, maintaining a balance between security and employee privacy while providing a comprehensive audit trail for forensic investigations and compliance reporting.

Read more: The 7 Best DTEX Alternatives.

4. Code42 Incydr

Code42 Incydr is a data loss prevention solution that offers comprehensive visibility and control over data exfiltration across endpoints, cloud apps, and email systems. Unlike traditional DLP tools that rely on complex policies and blocking actions, Incydr takes a more user-centric approach to protect sensitive data without hindering employee productivity. It leverages a lightweight agent and cloud-native architecture to monitor data movement and provide contextualized insights into insider risk.

Features

• Risk Exposure Dashboard: Incydr provides a centralized view of suspicious file activity, high-risk users, and data exfiltration trends to help security teams prioritize investigations and remediation efforts.
• Incydr Risk Indicators: It features contextual risk scoring based on file, vector, and user behavior attributes to surface the most critical data exposure events and reduce alert fatigue.
• Flexible Response Controls: Code42 Incydr enables targeted, automated responses to data leaks based on severity, from user education for minor policy violations to access revocation for high-risk incidents.

Read more: The 10 Best Code42 Incydr Alternatives.

5. Trellix DLP

Trellix DLP is another solution that helps organizations protect sensitive information across various threat vectors. With advanced discovery and classification capabilities, it enables businesses to identify and secure their most critical data, whether it resides on endpoints, networks, or in the cloud. Trellix DLP streamlines data protection efforts and ensures consistent security across the enterprise by providing a centralized management console and unified policy enforcement. 

Features

• Endpoint Protection: Trellix Endpoint DLP secures sensitive data on Windows and macOS devices, preventing unauthorized exfiltration via removable media, email, web browsers, and cloud apps.
• Network Monitoring and Prevention: Trellix DLP Network Monitor and Prevent protect data in transit across email, web, and network channels, leveraging advanced content analysis and policy enforcement.
• Data Discovery and Classification: Trellix DLP Discover scans and classifies sensitive data across file repositories, databases, and cloud storage, providing visibility into an organization’s data landscape.

6. Nightfall DLP

Nightfall DLP is a cloud-native solution that leverages machine learning to protect sensitive information across SaaS applications, cloud storage, and messaging platforms. By integrating seamlessly with popular cloud services like Slack, Google Drive, and GitHub, Nightfall provides real-time monitoring and protection of sensitive data. Its AI-powered engine accurately detects and classifies various types of sensitive information, including PII, PHI, and financial data, minimizing false positives and ensuring comprehensive coverage.

Features

• Agentless Deployment: Nightfall’s agentless architecture allows for rapid deployment and easy scalability across cloud environments, without the need for complex installations or endpoint agents.
• Contextual Detection: Nightfall’s machine learning models analyze data within its context, considering factors such as document structure, surrounding text, and user roles to accurately identify sensitive information and reduce false positives.
• Employee Coaching: Nightfall offers real-time employee coaching features, which notify users of policy violations and provide educational prompts to promote secure data handling practices.

7. Digital Guardian

Digital Guardian is a data protection platform that combines data loss prevention (DLP), endpoint detection and response (EDR), and cloud data protection capabilities. With its cloud-native architecture and cross-platform coverage, Digital Guardian enables organizations to gain deep visibility into data movement, enforce granular controls, and automate incident response.

Features

• Endpoint Agent: Delivers deep visibility into system, user, and data events, enabling context-aware protection and automated blocking of threats to sensitive information.
• Analytics and Reporting Cloud (ARC): Provides cloud-based analytics, workflows, and reporting capabilities, enabling security teams to identify and remediate insider and outsider threats effectively.
• Network Appliance: Protects data at rest and in motion across networks, storage repositories, databases, and cloud applications, with low overhead and high performance.

8. Symantec DLP

Symantec DLP helps organizations safeguard their sensitive data from both internal and external threats. Symantec DLP enables businesses to consistently enforce data protection policies across all channels, including cloud-based services, on-premises systems, and endpoints, by providing a single pane of glass for policy management, incident response, and administration.

Features

• Endpoint Protection: Symantec DLP for Endpoint provides comprehensive discovery, monitoring, and protection for data in use across a wide range of channels, including email, cloud apps, network protocols, external storage, and virtual desktops.
• Network Protection: Symantec DLP for Network monitors and prevents sensitive data from being leaked over various communication protocols, including email, web, and proprietary protocols, while integrating with existing network infrastructure.
• Cloud Protection: Symantec DLP Cloud extends data protection controls to cloud applications, providing discovery, monitoring, and protection capabilities for sanctioned and unsanctioned cloud apps, as well as on-premises applications.

Conclusion

Endpoint Protector DLP is a solid choice, but while it has limitations in monitoring, insider threat prevention, and app coverage, solutions like Teramind (the best alternative), Proofpoint, and DTEX inTERCEPT offer better comprehensive solutions with advanced features for data security like UEBA, screen recording, remote desktop control, insider threat prevention, employee monitoring, and productivity optimization.