What type of product automates the discovery and classification of data types and enforces rules to ensure that data is not viewed or transferred without proper authorization?

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) products are specifically designed to automate the discovery and classification of sensitive data within an organization. They utilize various techniques, such as content inspection and contextual analysis, to identify different data types, such as personally identifiable information (PII), financial data, or proprietary information.

Once this data is identified and categorized, DLP solutions can enforce rules and policies to prevent unauthorized access, sharing, or transfer of that data. This often includes mechanisms like blocking data transfers, encrypting sensitive data during transmission, or alerting administrators when violations occur. The primary purpose of DLP is to mitigate the risk of data breaches, compliance violations, and inadvertent insider threats by safeguarding sensitive information.

In contrast, Digital Rights Management (DRM) focuses more on protecting digital content from unauthorized use and distribution but does not typically encompass the broad classification and monitoring roles that DLP performs. Data loss detection is also more reactive, often identifying data loss after it has occurred rather than proactively enforcing rules and preventing data leaks. Watermarking is a technique used to embed information into data to indicate ownership or usage rights but does not provide the enforcement capabilities of a DLP system.