A CASB offers a variety of security and management features to help organizations protect sensitive data in the cloud. The primary purposes of a CASB are to ensure security, compliance and visibility. CASBs allow IT to monitor and control access to cloud resources based on user identity, location, service or application. They also detect and prevent data breaches and malware attacks.
Security
Security teams want a new tool as businesses shift more and more data to the cloud to protect their sensitive data. A cloud access security broker is an additional layer of security that supplements data loss prevention (DLP) capabilities and protects all cloud applications that contain sensitive data.
In addition, a CASB is required to comply with various cybersecurity regulations like SOC 2 and HIPAA. By implementing robust security controls, a CASB can help organizations that store data and run business processes in the cloud meet strict regulatory requirements.
A CASB enables complete visibility into all applications that handle sensitive data. It can detect and respond to threats like malware, ransomware, phishing, or a user’s behavior patterns that could signal unauthorized use of cloud-based services.
Moreover, a CASB helps IT teams enforce policies that prevent users from sharing sensitive data in unsanctioned applications. In the case of a sales department, for example, the CASB could block access to a sales application if a customer-related file was shared with someone who wasn’t an authorized user.
Lastly, a CASB can identify and manage shadow IT – unauthorized applications that spawn workloads from developers’ accounts, which can be difficult for the IT team to track. A CASB can help organizations detect these applications, stop them from being launched, and offer automated recommendations for how the IT team can respond.
Compliance
As your organization uses more cloud resources, it’s essential to understand how they are being used and by whom. A CASB gives administrators insight into resource usage, detecting suspicious access requests and uploads of malicious files and security vulnerabilities from poor access control practices. Moreover, CASB helps businesses manage their cloud security environment by enforcing policies across every application and service that they use in the cloud. It helps prevent Shadow IT’s unauthorized access to cloud services by unauthorized users and their devices.
A CASB also provides automated management of data policy violations by performing actions such as blocking, overriding, warning, encryption, and quarantining. It also provides a summary of these actions to the IT team. Any organization’s cybersecurity plan must include a CASB. Monitoring and managing your data helps ensure compliance with regulations and industry mandates. It includes ensuring that your cloud data is secure and that you meet privacy rules such as GDPR and CCPA. It also helps with traffic analytics and reporting, allowing you to monitor your data’s journey and detect potential security risks.
Visibility
A CASB is a policy enforcement hub that increases visibility into who accesses and uses an organization’s cloud-based data and applications. It monitors and identifies users and devices, detects suspicious behavior, alerts administrators, and provides threat protection to ensure the security of sensitive data in the cloud.
Unlike traditional firewalls, a CASB can be agent-based or agentless. Both types can protect an organization’s data privacy.
A CASB can also be designed to reduce the risk of shadow IT, which is any device or hardware connected to the network without authorization. It can include unauthorized devices or devices that carry malicious software like ransomware. Administrators must have a complete picture of what devices are connected to the network, as it may be easy to miss the suspicious activity that could indicate a security issue.
Analytics
A CASB is a security checkpoint between cloud users and cloud services. It monitors and enforces data policies to control access, sharing, and encryption. CASBs also offer analytics measures that illuminate strange or unusual user activity. CASBs work with on-premises firewalls, secure web gateways or WAFs to import log data and analyze traffic. They can then use this data to protect the information in real-time. The CASB is a critical element of a comprehensive data security solution that includes DLP and collaboration controls. These features enable IT to see what sensitive data is moving between on-premises and cloud environments. It allows them to track who is using the information, where they are, and how they are storing it. They can also monitor and identify suspicious behavior indicating a breach or phishing attack. Lastly, a CASB helps organizations comply with numerous government and industry regulations that require protecting enterprise data. For example, regulated content such as credit card numbers must be encrypted at rest. The CASB can help organizations meet the requirements of these regulations by ensuring that only a limited amount of regulated data is stored or shared in the cloud. It can also detect any violations that may occur. It can also assist with compliance by identifying the most critical risk factors and implementing stringent data protection policies.