nightfall ai
for
slack
Designing Trust: How I Built Nightfall’s Slack DLP Experience for
Security Teams and End Users
Year started
2022
type
sole designer
Category
slack integration
mvp timeline
2-4 months
problem
Slack is widely used across enterprises, but sensitive data often leaks through DMs, shared channels, Slack Connect, and file uploads. Traditional DLP solutions are slow to deploy and noisy with false alerts.
stakeholders
Security Teams (Infosec leads, Compliance Officers): Need robust detection, high accuracy, low noise.
MY ROLE
Led the full design process for Nightfall AI’s Slack integration: from discovery and scoping to policy creation workflows, violation alert UX, and compliance dashboards.
IMPACT
Enable fast setup across all Slack workspaces.
Build a policy creation experience that is clear and flexible.
Deliver accurate detection (~95% precision) of PII, PHI, PCI, secrets, and credentials.
Provide clear alerts and automated remediation without disrupting user workflows.
The first challenge was making installation simple and fast, because security teams are often resource-constrained and do not want lengthy deployment cycles. Legacy DLP tools can take weeks to configure, while our goal was to enable protection in under an hour.
Authorize App – Click “Add to Slack,” approve permissions, and for Enterprise, enable Discovery API
Bot Deployment – Bot auto-added to public and Connect channels (Pro/Business+). Private channels require manual invitation:
/invite @Nightfall Pro #[channel]
One of the core design challenges in Nightfall AI for Slack was making policy creation simple yet powerful. Security teams needed flexible controls to cover a wide range of sensitive data (PII, PHI, PCI, secrets, credentials), but the interface had to remain approachable for admins who were not DLP experts.
Revamped the old flow
While doing this project, I also led a revamp of the Policy Creation experience that turned it into a clear, guided workflow.
new slack policy
Improved adoption by shifting from a technical, rigid experience to a human-centered workflow. Reduced policy setup time from hours to minutes.
Admin alerts can be sent via Slack, email, webhook, or Jira. Configurable at both integration and policy levels. End-user notifications can be customized with messages up to 1000 characters and hyperlinks.
demo
A glimpse into Policy Creation.
The Dashboard was designed as the central hub for visibility and compliance reporting. Security and IT teams needed a place to see violations in real time, investigate alerts, and export data for audits.
how alert are sent
When a policy triggers, violations appear in the dashboard and alerts are sent based on configuration. In Slack, alerts often go to a designated private alert channel created by Nightfall (Enterprise).
dashboard capabilities
By centralizing alerts, security teams resolve issues in minutes rather than hours.
With ~95% detection accuracy and automated tuning, Nightfall reduces false positives, preventing alert fatigue.
As the lead Product Designer for this project, my approach for Nightfall AI’s Slack DLP integration focused on:
Fast onboarding with clear plan limitations.
A wizard-driven policy builder accessible to both novice and advanced users.
Flexible alert and remediation flows that empower users while protecting sensitive data.
Dashboards and logs that improve visibility and support compliance.
A balance between security enforcement and user autonomy.
This design improves Slack’s security posture while maintaining a collaborative and user-friendly experience.
