Top 5 CASB Benefits To Establish Better Control Over Cloud Applications
As modern-day technology evolves with the progression of different systems and innovations in technology, we see quite a lot of movement of documents into the cloud, and this typically is the case with Software-as-a-Service or SaaS platforms. Affordability is the main reason why people are moving to Cloud. Quick implementation, cost-effectiveness, and the ability to scale up business solutions in quick time make cloud computing the order of the day. Cloud applications like SalesForce, Office 365, and DropBox allow organizations to move their data into a more flexible resource to lower the operational costs and also to achieve efficient management of data. With cloud adoption, there also comes the risk as well in terms of cloud security. Now, how to secure the data sitting over the cloud is the question with most organizations. While moving data into third-party services, data is so much invisible and vulnerable that it ought to deploy CASB solutions provided by Cloud Access Security Brokers. Below are the top 5 CASB benefits that can conclude the search for a perfect CASB solution.
Top 5 CASB Benefits
1. Shadow IT Solutions
Knowing about what is not known! A CASB solution provides visibility into Shadow IT operations, which helps in identifying risky cloud applications, prevent dangerous usage of unsanctioned applications, and also identify the most vulnerable users who are at risk. To comply with rules and regulations like HIPAA, one needs to be selective in choosing cloud applications (sanctioned apps) and define compliance policies and regulations according to the workflow. It will ensure compliance and security of data that may be intended to put over the cloud. Those apps which the organizations deem risky can be categorized as unsanctioned apps, and their usage can be restricted. Types of sanctioned apps include “productivity apps” such as Office 365, “File Collaboration Apps” such as Box or DropBox or Google Apps, and “Line of Business Apps” support and marketing apps, R&D apps, etc.
2. Prevent Cyber Threats:
Threats can be real or virtual and external or internal. One needs to strengthen cloud security using a CASB solution to mitigate these threats most effectively. People who are looking to compromise enterprise data are always looking to target insecure data networks. By deploying a robust CASB solution, one can mitigate both the external as well as internal threats at ease. It is possible to restrict data access within groups, monitor users’ online behavior in real-time, track individuals or groups prohibited activities, manage BYOD access, and even control external file sharing over the cloud network.
3. Prevent Data Leakage:
A robust CASB solution must have a specific module working to prevent data leakage or Data Loss Prevention (DLP). DLP solutions enable the organization to critically enforce and impose restrictions on user activities, thereby not providing the chance for malicious intents to carry out their business. The limits can be in the form of device restriction, access restriction, restriction to Geo-location, time restriction, etc. Thus, the deployment of a CASB solution gives better control over granting permissions to users of different sets of an organization. This DLP controls both data in motion as well as data at rest.
4. Manage Privileged Accounts & Admin
A perfect CASB solution enables an enterprise to manage and streamline its cloud operations effectively. This process is done by prioritization and management of privileged accounts, and enforcing various permutations and combinations of restrictions as well as permissions to access and manage data in the safest way. The admin mostly has higher privileges and rights. Thus, if an organization perceives a threat inside the admin sections, it will be coined as a serious threat as it may transition into more significant losses than compared to a user at the bottom of the hierarchy.
5. Control over External File Sharing
Using a Personal Gmail Block feature, one can restrict the users of the enterprise to ensure that they are not able to use their personal Gmail accounts to proliferate confidential and private data of customers. As Gmail is open-source and is merely free of cost, there is this innate tendency of ill-intended people to exploit it at any time in their favor. Thus, this personal Gmail block feature is a crucial feature of a CASB solution that mitigates the threat of data leakage or unwanted proliferation.
Why is a Cloud Access Security Broker Used?
One significant use case is to find, screen, and secure shadow IT. Shadow IT is the unapproved utilization of cloud benefits by line-of-business staff. Since IT groups don’t know about shadow IT, it isn’t dependent upon corporate security, consistency, and administration approaches. This opens ventures to critical security dangers.
As indicated by an ongoing review of more than 2,000 IT experts by Intel Security, right around 40 percent of cloud administrations are presently appointed without its inclusion. Accordingly, 65 percent of IT experts think shadow IT is meddling with their capacity to keep cloud utilization protected and secure. The greater part of respondents said they have followed malware from a cloud application.
Despite cloud security stresses, 62 percent of respondents store delicate client data in the open cloud. Likewise, the quantity of organizations utilizing private cloud just has dropped from 51 percent to 24 percent over the previous year, while crossbreed cloud use has expanded from 19 percent to 57 percent.
How Does a CASB Work?
CASBs may run on-premises or in the cloud. Sensibly, CASBs sit between the end client and the cloud, however, truly a CASB must be situated in one of two spots: in a corporate server farm or in the cloud itself. That implies you have a decision between utilizing a cloud get security dealer as help or facilitating one on a physical or virtual machine. The SaaS alternative is simpler to oversee and is the more famous choice, as per Gartner, however in specific ventures you may need to utilize an on-premises framework for consistent reasons.
- Reverse proxy: It can manage the user’s device without any configuration or certificate, however, it cannot handle unauthorized cloud apps.
- Forward proxy: It helps in guiding all the managed traffic to unauthorized cloud apps but cannot monitor the apps on user-owned devices.
- API mode: It allows enterprises to perform various activities such as log telemetry, policy visibility and control, and data security inspection.
The wide range of CASB benefits make them absolutely necessary for organizations, especially for small and medium businesses.