A new tool will help users avoid sharing sensitive data with unintended recipients

It can be dangerous to disclose sensitive data if it falls into the wrong hands. If you share data with people outside AU through channels that are not encrypted, the risk of the data falling into the wrong hands increases significantly. And neither SharePoint nor Outlook are encrypted.

New data protection tool

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is a new digital tool designed to prevent sensitive personal data being sent through inappropriate channels. The tool can help identify cases in which you, intentionally or unintentionally, try to send/share sensitive personal data with people outside AU through Outlook or SharePoint.

AU’s secure email solution

It is a good idea to use AU's secure email solution when sending sensitive personal data to external recipients. Secure email means that the email you send is encrypted and signed. The encryption ensures that only the recipient can read the email. If the email ends up in the wrong hands, it will be unreadable. The email has a signature that guarantees that the sender is the person he/she claims to be, and that the content is the same as when it left the sender. You can read more about the secure email solution here. 

How the DLP tool works

The DLP tool scans emails and files that you try to share with people outside AU for sensitive personal data. If the tool identifies any sensitive data, you will receive a message asking you to use another communication channel to send the data. 

The DLP tool won’t catch everything

The DLP tool will not be able to identify all types of sensitive personal data, as it has been set up based on a set of standard parameters. Therefore, it is important that you are alert to the security issues when you need to share sensitive personal data with people outside AU.

Find out more

• Learn how the DLP tool works in Outlook and SharePoint
• Find information on AU’s secure email solution
• Find information on sensitive personal data