Which statement best describes a key functional distinction in commercial DLP programs?

• A. Monitor vs block
• B. Email archiving vs immediate deletion
• C. Real-time scanning vs batch processing
• D. On-premises vs cloud storage

Answer: (A)

DLP programs differ by whether they only monitor data flows or actively block them. The core idea is that you can configure policies to passively observe and alert when sensitive data is used or transmitted, or to enforce policy in real time by blocking, quarantining, or encryption of the data to prevent leakage. This distinction matters because monitoring provides visibility and risk insight without interrupting users, while blocking enforces compliance at the moment of transfer. Other options describe performance aspects (real-time vs batch) or where data is stored (on-premises vs cloud), which are not the fundamental functional difference that defines how DLP protects data.