A visual representation of data flow through one or more IT systems throughout the data’s lifecycle. There are two types of diagrams. The first is how the data should flow, which is used to define a data lifecycle policy. The second is how the data actually flows, which is used for detecting potential vulnerabilities such as inappropriate permissions and attacks such as data exfiltration. Frictionless data security solutions provide real-time data flow diagrams, which help security teams quickly understand potentially problematic data flows.