A cloud access security broker solution offers visibility, compliance, and data security. It works with solutions like next-generation firewalls (NGFWs), which filter traffic to safeguard businesses against attacks.
CASBs can also monitor user behaviors to identify and respond to suspicious or unusual behavior. In addition, they are used by organizations to protect cloud apps and data against threats, such as malware, ransomware, phishing, and spyware.
Controls
The emergence of cloud-based services and the growing popularity of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies have expanded the data environment beyond an organization’s traditional IT stack, making it more difficult for IT to monitor network usage and protect corporate data. It is where a cloud access security broker comes in.
A CASB can help you protect all sensitive data in the cloud. It can also help you manage data loss prevention (DLP) and protect your organization against compliance breaches.
Whether deployed as proxies or API brokers, CASBs offer visibility into cloud services through traffic analysis, log telemetry, policy enforcement, and management functions. They can be deployed in reverse proxy mode, meaning that agents are not required on endpoints and work better with unmanaged devices, or in forward proxy mode, all traffic from managed endpoints is directed to the CSP.
CASBs can also control access to unsanctioned cloud services by using automated, configurable policies to enforce a “no sharing outside of the company” policy on a specific category of services. These policies can be based on identity, service, activity, application, or data. This approach enables companies to say “yes” too valuable services while enforcing cloud security policies.
Security
While using a cloud access security broker solution can help your team boost productivity and efficiency, it also comes with several security risks. For example, users uploading files to the cloud and allowing third-party vendors to access their data without proper permission can result in serious issues.
An enterprise solution called a cloud access security broker (CASB) guards your company against unwanted access to cloud apps and data. CASBs act as intermediaries between your on-premises and remote infrastructure and cloud service providers, examining all traffic to extend the reach of your security policies.
Besides protecting your cloud apps, users, and data from malicious use or unauthorized access, a CASB also helps you enforce security policies. These include authentication, authorization, encryption, single sign-on (SSO), credential mapping, device profiling, alerting, and malware and ransomware detection.
When your security team needs more granular control over cloud services, they can use behavior analytics technology to spot unusual user and asset behaviors that may indicate a security risk. Similarly, threat intelligence technology allows them to identify and mitigate potential threats before they harm your data.
Compliance
Cloud access security brokers (CASBs) enable organizations to meet compliance requirements while using the cloud. These solutions help monitor and manage compliance requirements. In addition, they detect compliance concerns and offer the security team advice.
CASBs also provide advanced data loss prevention (DLP) to help enterprises protect sensitive data in sanctioned and unapproved cloud services. CASBs use sophisticated cloud DLP detection mechanisms, including document fingerprinting and reducing detection surface area by context (user, location, activity).
The rise of hybrid and remote work models has accelerated the need for a comprehensive cloud security strategy, with a growing proportion of organizational resources now situated outside the corporate local area network(LAN) and its traditional security perimeter. Consequently, it is critical for CIOs and IT security professionals to have visibility into how employees are using the cloud and a unified way to enforce data governance and compliance policies across all cloud services.
Choosing the right CASB solution is critical to an effective cloud security strategy. First, businesses must determine their unique cloud security needs and choose a solution that meets them. To do this, companies can perform extensive proofs-of-concept (POCs), assemble information from cybersecurity experts, or conduct reference calls with companies of similar size and requirements.
Visibility
The growing sophistication of cybercriminals and digital adversaries has made accessing corporate data stored in cloud environments easier, resulting in a higher risk of theft or leakage. As a result, organizations need visibility and control of cloud services, applications, and endpoints to secure their data better and mitigate the risk of unauthorized usage or attacks.
CASB solutions provide a comprehensive cloud app discovery analysis that assesses the risk of each service used by the organization allowing enterprise security professionals to decide whether to allow or block the application. In addition, this information helps shape granular controls like granting different levels of access to apps and data based on user ID, location, job function, or device.
CASBs also enable cloud DLP, a solution that protects sensitive content from unauthorized sharing and prevents malicious attacks on that data by reducing the detection surface area using context (user, location, activity). When questionable content is discovered in or en route to the cloud, a CASB should be able to shuttle it efficiently to IT systems for further analysis, enabling companies to comply with regulatory compliance standards.
Choosing the right cloud access security broker solution can be difficult, and it is essential to identify your individual CASB use cases before evaluating a solution. Performing detailed POCs, compiling research from cybersecurity analysts, or conducting in-depth reference calls with companies of similar size and similar needs can help you ensure the best fit for your specific business goals.
