Data moves faster and farther across cloud platforms, mobile devices, remote endpoints, and collaboration tools. This agility boosts productivity, but it also creates risk points where data could slip either through accidental leaks, insider threats, or targeted cyberattacks.
Whether it’s customer PII, payment details (PCI), or healthcare records (PHI), losing sensitive data can damage brand trust, invite regulatory penalties, and disrupt operations. That’s why enterprises are prioritizing Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policy. Not just to meet compliance requirements, but to enforce smart data governance and safeguard digital assets wherever they reside.
Let’s explore how you can enforce Microsoft Intune’s data loss prevention policies via Scalefusion UEM. But first, let’s start with the basics.
What is a data loss prevention policy(DLP)?
A data loss prevention policy (DLP policy) is a set of rules that helps organizations prevent sensitive data from being exposed, leaked, lost or mishandled, whether accidentally or on purpose. It defines what types of data need protection like financial records, personal information, or intellectual property, and outlines how that data should be accessed, shared, stored, or blocked across devices and applications.
In simple terms, a DLP policy is your organization’s playbook for keeping critical data where it belongs. It sets boundaries on:
- Who can access specific data
- What they can do with it (copy, email, upload, etc.)
- Where the data is allowed to travel (networks, devices, cloud services)
- When to alert, block, or report based on suspicious activity
A comprehensive DLP policy typically includes several key components:
- Types of data to protect: This covers everything from personally identifiable information (PII) and financial records to intellectual property and confidential business information.
- Access and sharing procedures: Clear guidelines on how each type of data can be accessed, who is authorized to share it, and under what conditions.
- Security technologies and methods: Use of tools such as access controls, encryption, data monitoring, and endpoint protection to enforce the policy and prevent unauthorized data movement.
- Compliance measures: Steps to ensure adherence to relevant industry regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS by controlling data exposure risks.
- Incident response strategy: A predefined plan that details how to detect, respond to, and recover from data security incidents quickly and effectively.
Implementing a DLP policy helps organizations establish a layer of security that minimizes risk and provides a structured approach to protecting critical information. These policies form the foundation of strong data loss prevention and compliance.
Primary causes of data loss
Before building a DLP policy, it’s crucial to understand the primary sources of data loss. Knowing where the risks lie helps in drafting effective data loss prevention rules and selecting the right DLP controls.
1. Human error
Yes, we’ve all been there. A file gets sent to the wrong email thread, someone clicks the wrong button, or sensitive data is mistakenly uploaded to a shared drive. These innocent mistakes are actually one of the top reasons data goes missing. That’s why strong DLP policies must include real-time prompts, auto-blocks, and user access restrictions to minimize the damage caused by honest errors.
2. Malicious insiders
Not every threat wears a hoodie and operates from a remote basement. Sometimes, the risk is sitting at the next desk. Disgruntled employees, third-party contractors, or even well-meaning staff trying to “take work home” can end up leaking sensitive data — intentionally or not. A good DLP solution watches for suspicious behavior like mass downloads, file transfers to external drives, or unusual login times.
3. External threats
Cybercriminals are getting smarter. They’ll use phishing emails, fake websites, and compromised credentials to break into systems — and once they’re in, they move fast. If your DLP policies aren’t integrated with threat detection tools and don’t include rules for cloud access or API security, it’s easy for attackers to find the gaps and exploit them.
4. Cyberattacks
Think ransomware, spyware, or zero-day exploits. These threats go beyond just stealing data — they lock it up or destroy it completely. When this happens, endpoint DLP solutions play a crucial role. They can detect abnormal activity and trigger automatic lockdowns, giving your team valuable time to respond.
5. Hardware failures
Hard drives crash. SSDs die. Devices overheat or short-circuit. And when they do, stored data often vanishes with them — unless you’ve got automated backups and encryption policies in place. DLP can help by ensuring sensitive data isn’t stored locally without safeguards and that it’s automatically backed up to secure, compliant cloud locations.
6. Software corruption
Glitches, bugs, incomplete updates — sometimes your systems just misbehave. And if that results in corrupted files or database errors, the loss can be significant. While this isn’t always preventable, DLP tools can enforce access controls, versioning, and change tracking to reduce the blast radius.
7. Natural disasters
Fires, floods, earthquakes may not happen every day, but when they do, physical infrastructure can be wiped out in seconds. The key here? Make sure your DLP plan includes secure, off-site backups and cloud failover strategies that kick in automatically.
8. Theft
Lost or stolen laptops and phones are still one of the most common causes of data loss — especially in remote and hybrid work environments. With DLP controls integrated into your endpoint management, you can remotely lock or wipe devices the moment they’re reported missing. Add encryption to the mix, and you make sure that even if the device is stolen, the data stays protected.
Best practices for building DLP policies
Creating strong data loss prevention (DLP) policies isn’t just a one-time task, rather it’s an ongoing effort that requires a clear strategy and continuous improvement. Here’s how organizations can build an effective DLP policy that actually works:
1. Classify and tag data sources by data type:
Start by identifying sensitive data types like Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Payment Card Information (PCI), and Protected Health Information (PHI). Tagging this data helps your DLP tools recognize what needs extra protection and apply the right controls automatically.
2. Locate where the data is stored:
Sensitive data isn’t always neatly organized. It can live on endpoints, cloud storage, databases, or even legacy systems. Mapping all your data repositories is essential to know where to enforce your DLP policies effectively.
3. Define clear data handling rules:
Once you know what data is sensitive, spell out precise rules for how it should be accessed, shared, and stored. Clear, actionable guidelines help employees understand what’s allowed and what’s off-limits, reducing accidental leaks and misuse.
4. Determine user roles and levels of data access:
Not everyone needs access to everything. Define user roles clearly and assign data access levels based on the principle of least privilege. This limits data exposure and reduces the risk of insider threats.
5. Track data movements:
Data isn’t static—it moves between devices, applications, and networks. Implement monitoring systems that log data transfers, copies, downloads, or uploads in real time. This visibility allows you to detect suspicious behavior quickly.
6. Predefine remedial actions for responding to a security event:
When a data security incident happens, time is critical. Your DLP policy should include predefined responses—such as alerting security teams, blocking data transfers, or quarantining affected devices—to accelerate mitigation and limit damage.
7. Determine how data security information will be archived
Maintaining records of DLP activities, alerts, and incidents is vital for compliance and audits. Decide how long logs and reports will be stored, where they’ll be archived securely, and who can access them.
8. Use smart technology:
Integrate AI-powered DLP tools with endpoint and cloud systems for automated, context-aware protection.
9. Review and update policies frequently:
Keep your DLP policy current by auditing data flows, incidents, and compliance requirements regularly.
How do data loss prevention solutions work?
Modern DLP solutions are designed to keep sensitive information safe—whether it’s stored on a device, shared through email, or moved to the cloud. They work by identifying sensitive data, applying rules to control access, monitoring for risky behavior, and responding to threats in real time. Here’s how they do it:
1. Identifying and classifying sensitive data
The first step in any DLP system is figuring out what data needs protection. Using machine learning and automation, DLP tools scan files, databases, emails, cloud storage, and endpoint devices to find sensitive data such as personally identifiable information (PII), payment card details (PCI), and protected health information (PHI). Once detected, this data is automatically tagged based on its type and sensitivity. This classification step helps ensure that protection is consistent, scalable, and free from manual errors.
2. Setting data access and sharing rules
After identifying sensitive data, DLP solutions apply the predefined DLP controls that state who can access it, where it can be shared, and how it can be used. These rules can block unauthorized users from copying, printing, or emailing sensitive files. For instance, a DLP rule might prevent users from sending confidential financial records to personal email addresses or uploading them to unsanctioned cloud services. These rules act as a guardrail to ensure data is only accessed or shared in approved ways.
3. Monitoring data movement across environments
DLP platforms track how data flows across endpoints, networks, and cloud environments. Whether it’s being copied to a USB device, shared through collaboration apps like Teams or Slack, or sent in an email, the system keeps a close watch. If anything unusual is detected—like a user trying to upload sensitive data to an external site—the DLP solution can take action by alerting security teams, restricting access, or blocking the action entirely. This constant vigilance helps stop data leaks before they happen.
4. Detecting data exfiltration attempts
A core function of DLP is to prevent data from leaving the organization in unauthorized ways—this is called data exfiltration. DLP tools monitor endpoints such as laptops, mobile devices, and desktops, as well as internal networks and cloud platforms. If the system detects an attempt to transfer sensitive data in an unusual or unauthorized manner, it can trigger alerts, enforce access restrictions, or completely block the transfer to prevent a breach.
5. Responding to incidents in real time
DLP solutions aren’t just passive observers—they act fast when a policy is violated. For example, if an employee tries to send a confidential report through an unapproved email account, the DLP system can block the message, alert IT, and log the event for audit purposes. These tools enforce data protection policies in real time, helping organizations contain threats before they escalate.
6. Delivering insights through reporting and analytics
Continuous monitoring is paired with powerful analytics capabilities. DLP platforms provide security teams with detailed reports on policy violations, data movement, and user behavior. These insights allow organizations to fine-tune their DLP policies, detect patterns that may indicate insider threats or compliance gaps, and stay ahead of evolving risks. It’s not just about stopping threats—it’s about learning from them to improve security posture over time.
Prerequisites to configure Office 365 data loss prevention policies
Before you begin setting up data loss prevention policies for Office 365, there are a few licensing prerequisites you must fulfill.
To create, manage, and enforce DLP policies using Scalefusion’s integration with Microsoft Intune, you’ll need:
- An active Scalefusion license, and
- Any one of the following Microsoft subscriptions that support data loss prevention compliance:
- Microsoft 365 E5 or E3
- Enterprise Mobility + Security E5 or E3
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium
- Microsoft 365 F1 or F3
- Microsoft 365 Government G5 or G3
These plans provide the necessary backend support for enabling and enforcing data loss prevention rules within the Microsoft ecosystem.
Step-by-step process to implement DLP policies via Scalefusion
Once the prerequisites are in place, here’s how you can start enforcing your data loss prevention plan using Scalefusion UEM and Microsoft Intune.
1. Authorize Scalefusion to manage Microsoft Intune DLP policies: Start by authorizing Scalefusion to act on behalf of your organization. This enables the platform to configure and manage DLP controls seamlessly within your Microsoft Intune environment.
2. Access the DLP configuration module: Navigate to the Device Management section in the Scalefusion dashboard. From here, go to Microsoft Intune Policies to begin creating or managing data loss prevention policies.
3. Prepare Android devices for DLP policy application: For Android endpoints, install the Intune Company Portal app using Scalefusion’s Play for Work integration. Users must sign in to the app to sync the device and apply the assigned DLP policy.
4. Automate setup for iOS devices: On iOS, the data loss prevention policy is applied automatically once the user authenticates Office 365 apps. No additional manual configuration is required.
5. Create your DLP policies: Now you’re ready to define and enforce your organization’s data loss prevention rules. You can set up DLP policies that restrict actions like copy-paste, data sharing, or cloud uploads—based on roles, device type, or compliance requirements.
For a detailed walkthrough and real-world DLP policy examples, refer to our exclusive help documentation.
Leveraging Office 365 DLP (Data Loss Prevention) policies with Intune and Scalefusion
Once your organization sets up Microsoft Intune and integrates it with Scalefusion, you can apply a comprehensive data loss prevention policy across managed Android and iOS devices running Microsoft 365 apps. These DLP policies act as guardrails, enforcing data loss prevention rules to ensure corporate data remains protected—no matter where it travels.
Below are the key DLP controls and configurations available for Office 365 apps through Intune + Scalefusion UEM:
1. Stop data backup to native OS services
This DLP policy example ensures that users cannot back up company data to default services like iCloud (iOS) or Google Drive (Android). It keeps sensitive data out of unsecured, personal storage environments—critical for DLP compliance.
2. Control how users share data between apps
You can define how data is transferred between managed and unmanaged apps using the following data loss prevention policies:
- Allow all – Users can freely move data between apps
- Restricted – Only allows transfer between managed apps
- Block all – Completely blocks inter-app data sharing
This is a foundational setting in your data loss prevention plan, especially for BYOD environments.
3. Prevent data from being copied or saved
This DLP control disables “Save As” options, restricting users from copying or duplicating company data files. It works best when the inter-app sharing is set to “restricted.”
4. Allow data to be saved only in approved locations
Even if saving copies is disabled, you can whitelist secure locations like OneDrive for Business, SharePoint, or encrypted local storage. This ensures your data loss prevention compliance strategy remains flexible but controlled.
5. Regulate incoming data from other apps
Choose whether managed apps can receive data using share buttons or menus. The settings are:
- Allow all – Accept data from any app
- Restricted – Accept only from other managed apps
- Block all – Block all incoming data transfers
This adds another layer to your DLP policy framework.
6. Restrict clipboard access
Clipboard data is often overlooked in data loss prevention rules. You can control how users cut, copy, or paste data across apps:
- Any App – No restrictions
- Policy-managed apps only – Data flows only within protected apps
- Paste In only – Allows copying into managed apps, not from them
- Blocked – Completely blocks clipboard use between apps
7. Enforce secure web browsing
With this DLP control, all web links in managed apps are forced to open in a secure browser like Microsoft Edge, ensuring a trusted browsing experience and reducing data leakage risks.
8. Encrypt all app data
This policy encrypts app-level data, even if it’s stored on external devices like SD cards or SIMs. Encryption is the backbone of any strong data loss prevention plan.
9. Disable printing from managed apps
Prevent users from printing corporate documents, closing a key loophole in your DLP compliance model.
10. Block contact syncing
This policy stops managed apps from syncing contacts to the device’s native address book, ensuring business contact data doesn’t get mixed with personal records.
Access control settings for Office 365 apps
Beyond data loss prevention policies, you can also enforce strong access management through the following DLP policy controls:
- Require users to enter a PIN before accessing apps
- Authenticate with corporate credentials only
- Set idle timeouts and offline grace periods
- Auto-wipe corporate data if the app remains inactive for a set number of days
These help ensure secure access and maintain consistent data loss prevention compliance across devices.
Android-specific DLP policy settings
Scalefusion UEM also enables you to apply additional data loss prevention rules on Android devices:
- Block screen capture and Google Assistant
- Enforce minimum Android OS version
- Enforce minimum patch level
- Enforce minimum supported app version
iOS-specific DLP policy settings
Similarly, for Apple devices, you can set:
- Block Face ID access to apps (iOS 11+)
- Minimum supported iOS version
- Minimum app version
- Minimum App Protection Policy SDK version
These help tighten your overall data loss prevention policy and secure mobile endpoints effectively.
Strengthening DLP enforcement with unified management
Data loss prevention has become a business necessity. With sensitive data constantly moving across devices, apps, and cloud platforms, organizations need a unified way to enforce DLP policies without compromising usability.
By integrating Microsoft Intune’s DLP capabilities with Scalefusion’s Unified Endpoint Management (UEM), IT teams gain centralized visibility, context-aware control, and policy enforcement across all endpoints—Windows, Android, iOS, or macOS.
The result? Fewer blind spots, faster response to risks, and better DLP compliance with data protection mandates like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS. Most importantly, it empowers organizations to protect sensitive data at the edge—where users actually interact with it.
In a world where data never stops moving, it’s time your DLP strategy did the same. Scalefusion + Intune helps you do just that.
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