eScan adds screen watermarking to deter data leaks

eScan has added screen watermarking to its Enterprise DLP product to address confidential information shown on screens.

The feature is designed for cases where sensitive data is captured in a photograph or screenshot rather than sent by email, removable media or cloud transfer.

Traditional data loss prevention tools are commonly used to block or monitor file movement through channels such as email attachments, USB devices and online storage. Those controls do not stop someone from pointing a smartphone camera at a screen and sending the resulting image elsewhere.

eScan set out several examples of how that risk can arise in everyday work settings, including bank staff viewing customer account information, financial advisers working with profit and loss statements during meetings, remote workers with confidential designs visible in public places, and contractors accessing engineering blueprints on site.

Meeting risk

The company also highlighted video meetings as a point of exposure. Screen sharing on platforms such as Teams, Webex, Google Meet and Zoom can put financial statements, client portfolios, strategic plans and design documents in front of multiple participants, while recordings can preserve that material and make it easier to circulate later.

Under the new feature, users can switch on a watermark with a keyboard shortcut. The overlay displays the user identity, hostname, timestamp and company name on the viewed screen, so the same identifying information appears to meeting participants and in any screenshot or photograph of the display.

According to eScan, the watermark can be turned on or off by the user and works across a range of office and specialist software, including Office documents, CAD/CAM tools, PDF editors and QuickBooks. This gives security teams a way to identify the account and time involved if a watermarked image later appears in an unauthorised location.

Deterrence focus

The change does not stop an image from being taken. Instead, it is intended to add visible attribution to on-screen content so any leak can be traced to a specific user session.

That approach mirrors existing printer watermarking in eScan's Enterprise DLP product, which marks printed documents for later attribution. Screen watermarking extends the same principle to another route by which data can leave an organisation.

Security and compliance teams have spent years trying to limit the transfer of sensitive material through conventional technical controls. Screen photography is harder to address because it sits at the point where digital information becomes visible in the physical world, making it more difficult for software controls alone to prevent capture.

The growth of hybrid work and routine screen sharing has widened that challenge. Staff increasingly handle sensitive commercial and customer information from homes, client sites and public spaces, and many of those interactions now take place during online meetings where several people can view the same content at once.

For regulated sectors, the concern is not limited to espionage or deliberate theft. A single photograph of a customer record, financial report or design drawing can create compliance and reputational problems if shared beyond the intended audience.

eScan is part of MicroWorld Technologies and provides cybersecurity products including endpoint detection and response, extended detection and response, and data loss prevention. It says it serves enterprises, government agencies and other organisations in more than 90 countries and employs more than 300 research and development professionals.

Describing the rationale for the update, the company said: "Screen Watermarking is deterrent and attribution, not prevention."

It added: "A photograph can still be taken. But a watermarked image identifies the source, timestamp, and responsible user immediately."