Detect sensitive data in an image file with DLP

Products

• Data Loss Prevention Endpoint Prevent
• Data Loss Prevention Network Monitor
• Data Loss Prevention Network Prevent for Email
• Data Loss Prevention Network Protect
• Data Loss Prevention Endpoint Discover
• Data Loss Prevention
• Data Loss Prevention Cloud Detection Service

Issue/Introduction

Can Data Loss Prevention (DLP) detect sensitive data in an image file?

For example, a user sends an email with a picture of a Driver's License, SSN card, or Credit Card attached.
Is DLP able to detect the picture is an image of sensitive data?

Resolution

This type of detection is based on a technology called Optical Character Recognition (OCR). A separate license is needed to use OCR with Symantec DLP. The following TechDoc provides guidelines on estimating the system requirements of OCR Server "OCR Server Sizing estimator".

Additionally, OCR has a feature called "Form Recognition" , it's also referred to as a form of "Sensitive Image Recognition".

Form Recognition provides the ability to detect forms that contain sensitive information, such as tax forms, medical forms, insurance forms, and so on.

Form Recognition detects form images in a variety of image formats, including the following:

• Microsoft Office documents
• PDF (version 1.2 and later only)
• PDF that use AcroForms format
•  XFA (Only the hard-copy image, or the image that you would see if you printed the form, is supported. Soft copies, such as fillable forms, are not supported. Text extraction from XFA is also not supported.
• JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg)
• PNG
• TIFF (single page or multi-page, .tif or .tiff)
• Bitmap (.bmp, .dib)

 

Additional Information

About Content Detection with OCR in the Cloud