Rethinking DLP for hybrid work
With hybrid work here to stay, we find ourselves in a completely new reality, faced with newer security challenges. The global transition to digitization also means organizations are leveling up with AI, machine learning, and automation, and that includes a wave of generative AI tools, MCP-connected workflows, and even autonomous AI agents that traditional security measures were never designed to monitor.
Data portability in a hybrid world poses all kinds of visibility challenges for security teams, but none quite capture the breach headlines as much as insider threats. Insider risk now costs organizations roughly $17 million annually, with high-frequency monthly incidents, and the rise of shadow AI has only widened the gap. Every hour, Mimecast detects thousands of exfiltration attempts to unsanctioned AI tools, including source code, proprietary IP, and customer data.
Security teams agree that traditional Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solutions simply aren’t built to tackle our new work reality. One of my favorite customer quotes to capture this sentiment is, “The 90s called, they want their DLP back.” When you couple this reality with Mac’s enterprise growth, I understand the cause for panic!
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solutions never accounted for the Mac phenomenon and were not designed with them in mind. As a result, legacy DLPs (as the market has embraced calling them) often approach Macs as an afterthought rather than a core strategy. Security is at the forefront of people’s minds as more data is captured around the threats that companies of all sizes are facing on a daily basis, but that shouldn’t ever be the reason that a company shies away from adopting Macs.
Key features missing from DLP for Macs
Customer opinions of their DLP for Mac continue to be unfavorable. Naturally, we continue to ask why.
- No Support: Mac updates can be fast and furious. Unfortunately, DLP has traditionally struggled to keep up with those updates. The result? Errors, kernel panics, and increased risk of data loss.
- No OS Consistency: We often forget that today’s businesses often use both Mac and Windows. DLP has traditionally maintained a very Windows-centric approach that has made the Mac experience secondary and inconsistent with Windows. Having two sets of users with varying levels of data risk is never good.
- It’s Slow: An issue we hear all the time stems from performance-sucking agents that bring the productivity of Mac users to a screeching halt.
- Kernel Panics: This is worth reiterating. Macs are sensitive to anything that poses a threat, so whenever perceived unsanctioned DLP software threatens Mac, it means reboots and an increased risk of downtime.
- It’s Complicated: Traditional DLP still relies on legacy hardware and manual updates, which is time-consuming and expensive.
- It’s not the 1990s: If you had a rulebook, wrote policies, and even classified data, that approach is simply no longer applicable. And with AI agents now accessing and sharing sensitive data through pathways legacy tools can’t see, static rules fall even further behind.
A modern DLP solution for Macs
Legacy data loss prevention is outdated and cumbersome, and the majority of companies that rely on traditional DLP experience a data breach anyway. no matter the endpoint you have. Rigid policies and traditional blocking methods are flawed approaches to data loss prevention that create more work for security and disrupt your employees. Legacy DLP only sees what you tell it to look for, and the noise from digital collaboration, now amplified by GenAI, makes it even harder to detect real threats.
How Mimecast Incydr approaches the problem differently
Say goodbye to complex data loss prevention hassles for Macs (or Windows, Linux, browsers, SaaS, AI tools, or the cloud) because Mimecast has data visibility into them all. Incydr monitors file movement and user behavior using lightweight metadata collection instead of heavy content scanning, focusing on where data is going, how it’s getting there, and who’s moving it, without relying on “allow and deny” policies, heavy content inspection, or classifications. It deploys in minutes and begins recording file activity immediately, so you get visibility and insights from day one rather than after months of policy tuning.
Detection is powered by the Incydr PRISM risk engine, which uses over 250 risk indicators to prioritize the events that matter, applying file, user, and destination context so security teams can focus on the highest-risk incidents instead of chasing false positives. And as risk evolves, Incydr extends beyond insider-led data security into runtime data security for both human and AI-driven risk, scoring people and AI agents alike based on behavioral anomalies, policy violations, and high-risk data access.
Instead of old-school DLP solutions that stick to block-first playbooks, Mimecast Incydr empowers security to craft adaptive responses that fit the unique contours of each data incident, ranging from in-the-moment employee education to temporary allow to real-time blocking. Whether it’s an innocent oversight or a calculated threat, Incydr allows you to respond with pinpoint accuracy.
Incydr doesn’t just amp up your security game; it’s a productivity booster too. While clunky DLPs slow things down and create more hassle, Incydr is lightweight and seamlessly integrates into your cross-functional systems, from messaging to HCM to EDR/XDR to IAM/PAM and ITSM, with over 30 integrations and AI-powered workflows that cut investigation time for high-risk incidents by up to 50%. And with integrated security education, you can automatically educate employees on low-risk mistakes to make everyone a security ally. One customer cut data exfiltration by 36% in just four months using in-the-moment nudges. This means your workforce can operate at peak efficiency without compromising on security.
Trusted by over 42,000 organizations globally, Mimecast helps you achieve fast ROI, typically in under six months with minimal weekly admin time and no dedicated staff required.
Learn why Incydr offers a better solution than outdated traditional DLP.
**This blog has been updated from a previous version.