Data Loss Prevention and a Point of Sales Breach

Target could have used a data loss prevention solution to mitigate the success of its infamous data breach. However, organizations typically deploy data loss prevention with simple policies and rules that detect 15- or 16-digit number strings that might represent a credit card number; this strategy, would not be effective in the case of the Target attack due to the attackers packaging the loot with Base64 encoding directly on the point of sales systems. Therefore, a security practitioner requires alternative detection measures to detect this type of anomalous activity. Data loss prevention can support an organization's ability to implement the Critical Security Controls, thereby providing the capability to detect such a sophisticated attack during the key stage of the Kill Chain model: Actions on Objective. Data loss prevention, when implemented with robust rules that reflect current attack tactics, techniques, and procedures, can reduce the likelihood of success by making it a bit more difficult to extract the valuable data.