University of Piraeus Department of Digital Systems MSc in Security of Digital Systems Master Thesis Designing a free Data Loss Prevention system Dimitrios Koutsourelis March 2014 Data Loss Prevention Systems Supervisors Sokratis Katsikas, Professor University of Piraeus Spyros Papageorgiou, Captain (OF-5) Hellenic National Defense General Staff/ Directorate of Cyber Defense Dimitrios Koutsourelis 2 Data Loss Prevention Systems Abstract Data Loss is an everyday threat within all organizations. The leaking of confidential data ultimately results in a loss of revenue. A quarter of all Data Loss is widely attributed to the use of applications such as Voice, Email, Instant Messaging, Social Networks, Blogs, P2P and Videos. A common approach, adopted to prevent Data Loss is the use of sophisticated data detection algorithms and the deployment of systems to control applications, attempting to access the outside world [1]. Many vendors currently offer data loss prevention products for no small amount of money. This thesis focuses on providing all the necessary information needed to fully comprehend the terms that wrap around data loss prevention and illustrating some of the most common mechanisms and techniques used by the available software. Also, two publicly available, free, data loss prevention software tools, MyDLP and OpenDLP, are presented and analyzed. In the third part of this project, a system architecture is presented, designed to combine the two previously mentioned software in a way such that they co-exist inside an information system, complementing each other, providing solid data loss prevention services. Dimitrios Koutsourelis 3 Data Loss Prevention Systems Table of Contents 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 6 1.1 Background ..................................................................................................... 6 1.2 Objectives ........................................................................................................ 7 1.3 Structure .......................................................................................................... 7 2 Data Loss Prevention - DLP................................................................................ 7 2.1 What is Data Loss Prevention? ....................................................................... 7 2.2 Definition ........................................................................................................ 9 2.3 Various Related Terms .................................................................................... 9 2.4 Data Loss Threats .......................................................................................... 10 2.4.1 Accidental data loss ............................................................................... 10 2.4.2 Insider Attacks ....................................................................................... 10 2.4.3 External Attacks ..................................................................................... 11 2.5 Content Awareness ........................................................................................ 12 2.5.1 Content Analysis Techniques ................................................................ 12 2.6 DLP System Architecture and Data Protection Types .................................. 14 2.6.1 Data at Rest (Endpoint DLP) ................................................................. 16 2.6.2 Data in Motion (Network DLP) ............................................................. 17 2.6.3 Data in Use ............................................................................................. 18 2.6.4 Central Management .............................................................................. 18 3 Data Loss Prevention Tools............................................................................... 20 3.1 OpenDLP ....................................................................................................... 20 3.1.1 Workflows.............................................................................................. 23 3.2 MyDLP .......................................................................................................... 26 3.2.1 Policy Management ............................................................................... 27 3.2.2 Endpoint Management ........................................................................... 29 3.2.3 Logs........................................................................................................ 30 3.2.4 MyDLP Block Request Example ........................................................... 31 4 Designing a free DLP solution using OpenDLP and MyDLP ........................ 32 4.1 Human factor – The weak link ...................................................................... 33 4.2 The Need for Automation ............................................................................. 34 4.2.1 OpenDLP Automation ........................................................................... 35 4.2.1.1 Selenium ............................................................................................. 35 4.2.2 Scan Comparison Automation ............................................................... 36 4.2.3 MyDLP Automation .............................................................................. 38 4.2.3.1 Sikuli .................................................................................................. 38 4.2.3.2 Sikuli’s Limitation.............................................................................. 39 5 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 39 6 Bibliography ....................................................................................................... 41 7 Appendices .......................................................................................................... 44 7.1 Appendix A - OpenDLP Automation........................................................... 44 7.2 Appendix B – Scans Comparison.................................................................. 46 7.3 Appendix C – Sikuli Script ........................................................................... 49 Dimitrios Koutsourelis 4 Data Loss Prevention Systems List of Figures1 Figure 1: Basic DLP system architecture..................................................................... 15 Figure 2: Endpoint DLP architecture ........................................................................... 16 Figure 3: Data in Motion DLP architecture ................................................................. 18 Figure 4: OpenDLP Logo ............................................................................................ 20 Figure 5: OpenDLP’s main page ................................................................................. 22 Figure 7: New OpenDLP Scan Profile......................................................................... 23 Figure 6: OpenDLP Regular Expressions management .............................................. 23 Figure 8: OpenDLP Scan Start .................................................................................... 24 Figure 9: View Scan Results ........................................................................................ 25 Figure 10: MyDLP logo ............................................................................................... 26 Figure 11: MyDLP Policy Tab .................................................................................... 28 Figure 12: Endpoints MyDLP Tab .............................................................................. 30 Figure 13: Logs Tab ..................................................................................................... 31 Figure 14: Access Denied by MyDLP ......................................................................... 31 Figure 15: MyDLP- OpenDLP combination ............................................................... 33 Figure 16: Cron job scheduler basic syntax ................................................................. 34 Figure 17: Selenium Logo ........................................................................................... 35 Figure 18: OpenDLP scan XML tree ........................................................................... 36 Figure 19: Detected Data ............................................................................................. 37 Figure 20: Scan Comparison Report ............................................................................ 38 1 All images representing a network architecture were created using Microsoft Visio 2013. Images presenting the operation of OpenDLP and MyDLP are screenshots taken while running the DLP software under test conditions. Dimitrios Koutsourelis 5 Data Loss Prevention Systems 1 Introduction 1.1 Background Over the last decade, enterprises have become increasingly reliant on digital information to meet business objectives. On any given business day, significant amounts of information fuel business processes that involve parties both inside and outside of enterprise network boundaries. There are many paths for these data to travel and they can travel in many forms—e-mail messages, word processing documents, spreadsheets, database flat files and instant messaging are only a few examples. Much of this information is innocuous, but in many cases a significant subset is categorized