eScan (MicroWorld Technologies Inc.) has rolled out a feature that directly tackles one of the most persistent problems in enterprise security: sensitive data leaking through everyday messaging apps. The company’s Enterprise Data Loss Prevention (DLP) suite now includes bi-directional clipboard and drag-drop control specifically designed for platforms like WhatsApp, Viber and other web-based messaging tools.
This is the first implementation of its kind in the DLP market, and it comes from a real operational gap that most security teams have struggled with for years — how to prevent outbound data leaks without disabling the same apps employees rely on for legitimate business inputs.
Why This Matters
Enterprises across sectors use WhatsApp as an informal but essential communication channel. Sales teams receive leads, legal teams get client notes, healthcare workers coordinate patient care, and financial advisors exchange updates. Blocking WhatsApp is often unrealistic, but allowing full access creates a major risk.
Industry studies have shown that nearly 25% of employees accidentally share confidential information through messaging platforms, often without malicious intent. Incidents cited range from patient records being sent to the wrong recipient, to financial documents being copied into personal chats, to proprietary strategy files being moved outside the organization.
These scenarios have created a long-standing tension between productivity and compliance. Traditional DLP solutions usually offer only two extremes — block messaging entirely or allow it fully — neither of which solves the practical problem.
How the New Feature Works
eScan’s approach is built around directional control. Instead of treating all copy-paste actions as the same, the system evaluates the direction of data flow:
Outbound (Blocked):
Copying data from internal systems into WhatsApp or other messaging apps.
Inbound (Allowed):
Copying data from WhatsApp into enterprise applications, enabling employees to work without disruption.
The system also stops data being moved within WhatsApp itself, preventing cases where sensitive information is copied from one chat to another.
Technical challenges were significant, especially for browser-based apps. Modern browsers have tabbed interfaces and dynamic content, but eScan’s DLP can identify the active tab, the URL, and apply controls in real time. The capability works across both desktop and web versions of supported messaging applications.
Built for Real Enterprise Use Cases
The feature’s origin story comes from a major lead-generation company whose inside sales teams depended on WhatsApp but were simultaneously leaking high-value customer data through the same channel. Blanket disabling wasn’t an option. eScan’s direction-based control was developed to solve that exact tension.
The same pattern applies across legal firms, financial institutions, hospitals, BPOs, and government organizations — all of whom need messaging flexibility but cannot afford uncontrolled data transfer.
According to Shweta Thakare, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing at eScan, the goal was simple: “Security must adapt to how people actually work. It shouldn’t force people to work differently.”
Availability
The solution is available immediately for enterprise customers across government, defence, telecom, BFSI, healthcare and education. eScan, which operates in more than 90 countries with an R&D team of over 300 cybersecurity professionals, expects strong demand from organizations struggling with data leakage through informal communication channels.
Conclusion
The biggest challenge in DLP has always been balancing security with workflow. eScan’s new directional messaging control doesn’t solve data loss in theory — it solves it where it actually happens: in day-to-day employee behaviour. As dependence on messaging apps grows, solutions that can intelligently distinguish how information moves, not just where, will become central to modern data protection strategies.
