What is data loss prevention?

Rules that stop sensitive information leaving the business by accident or on purpose. They watch email, file sharing, cloud storage and USB drives, warn staff before a risky send and block the worst cases.

What tools do you use?

Microsoft Purview, which comes with Microsoft 365 Business Premium and some E3 and E5 plans. Most clients already own it and have never switched it on.

What does the Privacy Act expect?

If the Privacy Act covers your business, Australian Privacy Principle 11 requires reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, loss and unauthorised access. Data loss rules are one of the clearest ways to show you have taken those steps.

Will it slow staff down?

Not if it is set up properly. Staff doing normal work never see it. When something looks risky they get a short message explaining why, and in most cases they can give a reason and carry on.

Can it help after a breach?

Yes. The logs show what data was touched and where it went, which you need for a breach assessment under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

Do you work outside Brisbane?

Yes. All of this is set up and run remotely, so a business in any Australian city gets the same engineers and the same rules.

Data loss prevention

One wrong email can send a client file to a stranger.

Autocomplete picks the wrong address. A spreadsheet of client details goes to a personal Gmail. A leaver copies the files onto a USB stick. None of it needs a hacker.

We set up rules in Microsoft 365 that spot sensitive information, warn staff before it leaves and block the risky cases. Most businesses already pay for the tools.

Talk to an engineer 07 3114 2808

What changes

What is different once the rules are on.

The wrong email gets caught

When someone tries to send client files, tax file numbers or health details outside the business, Outlook warns them first. High-risk sends are stopped.

Confidential files stay confidential

Documents in SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams carry a label. A file marked confidential stays locked even if it is forwarded or downloaded.

Data does not walk out on a USB stick

Copying sensitive files to USB drives or personal cloud storage is blocked or logged, depending on the person and the file.

You can prove what happened

If something does go wrong, the logs show who opened what and where it went. That is what you need to decide whether a breach must be reported.

What happens

How we set it up.

01
Find it
We look through email, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams and laptops to find where your sensitive information actually lives.
02
Label it
We agree three or four simple labels with you, like Internal and Confidential, and set most of them to apply automatically.
03
Set the rules
We start in watch mode, so nothing is blocked while we learn how your staff really work. Then we switch on warnings and blocks.
04
Keep it right
We review what the rules catch, fix false alarms and adjust as the business changes.

Why it counts

Human error is a leading cause of reported breaches.

In the OAIC's Notifiable Data Breaches reports, human error, like sending personal information to the wrong person, is consistently one of the top causes of breaches reported by Australian organisations. These are the mistakes data loss rules are built to catch.

Common questions

The questions we get asked the most.

What is data loss prevention?: Rules that stop sensitive information leaving the business by accident or on purpose. They watch email, file sharing, cloud storage and USB drives, warn staff before a risky send and block the worst cases.
What tools do you use?: Microsoft Purview, which comes with Microsoft 365 Business Premium and some E3 and E5 plans. Most clients already own it and have never switched it on.
What does the Privacy Act expect?: If the Privacy Act covers your business, Australian Privacy Principle 11 requires reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, loss and unauthorised access. Data loss rules are one of the clearest ways to show you have taken those steps.
Will it slow staff down?: Not if it is set up properly. Staff doing normal work never see it. When something looks risky they get a short message explaining why, and in most cases they can give a reason and carry on.
Can it help after a breach?: Yes. The logs show what data was touched and where it went, which you need for a breach assessment under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.
Do you work outside Brisbane?: Yes. All of this is set up and run remotely, so a business in any Australian city gets the same engineers and the same rules.

Not sure where your client data ends up?

Talk to us. We will check what you already own and tell you what it would take to switch it on.