Ready for Microsoft Copilot? Chances Are Your Data Isn’t.

Now that we understand some best practices for securing Copilot data, how should you approach these steps, especially when these techniques are not native to the Microsoft ecosystem?

First, it's paramount to point out Data Loss Prevention (DLP) for its starring role in protecting sensitive data. DLP as a technology helps you inspect and classify sensitive data. Most Copilot best practices mentioned above revolve around a DLP engine. While you may be tempted to bring in individual DLP point products to tackle each Copilot issue separately, that's in reality a bad plan.

Point products, each with their own DLP engine, can lead to inconsistent alerts and increased complexity. The same data might trigger alerts in one engine but not another, making it hard for administrators to manage effectively. Customizing DLP policies would also require multiple configurations across different consoles, which can be a fast track to frustration.

Secondly, as you gain visibility into sensitive data, you'll likely want to make policy decisions about where it can go, who should have access, and what should not leave the organization. Your Copilot approach needs to be comprehensive and scalable, allowing you to add new protection channels as your data protection efforts evolve. Data can be lost through various channels, such as web uploads, emails, USB drives, SaaS sharing, IaaS misconfigurations, or other generative AI applications. Think of it as securing your digital fortress from all angles, not just the front door.

In-depth visibility of Copilot and GenAI use (Zscaler Console)

Both these issues above lead us to the requirement of a Platform approach for data protection. This is where Gartner's Security Service Edge (SSE) comes in. Recognized and proven in the industry as the best architecture for a data protection platform , SSE helps organizations address all the concerns mentioned above. It ensures a flexible, cloud-delivered approach that can easily scale to meet future protection needs.

Gartner's SSE framework is designed to integrate all aspects of data protection into a unified architecture. It secures data in motion, data at rest in clouds, and across endpoints. This modern, cloud-based approach helps retire complex and costly legacy data protection methods, while enabling addition of new innovative approaches to data security. With full API and inline SSL inspection capabilities, Gartner's SSE architecture makes it easy to enforce robust security for Copilot, Microsoft 365, and other data loss channels.

Zscaler's approach to data protection and SSE