In DLP policy management, what generally wins out when there are conflicting policies?

In Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policy management, when there are conflicting policies applied to an item of data, the principle that generally applies is that the longest retention win. This indicates that if two policies conflict and pertain to the same data, the policy with the longer retention period will take precedence.

This approach is rooted in the necessity to maintain compliance with regulations and to ensure that data that needs to be preserved for extended periods is not inadvertently destroyed or made unavailable due to conflicting shorter retention policies. Organizations must often comply with certain legal or regulatory data retention requirements, making it crucial that longer retention periods are honored to fulfill these obligations.

It is important to understand that this behavior helps protect the organization from potential legal issues that might arise from the premature deletion of data that is subject to longer retention requirements. The application of the longest retention policy reflects a broader strategy to enhance data governance and compliance efforts while managing risks associated with data loss.