Technology advancement brought by today’s era has revolutionized business operations across industries. But with rapid transformation in technology, comes greater risks on the enterprise security…
Traditionally, firewalls placed to protect enterprise networks seem to effectively do its job in securing and protecting the company from any types of attacks. But with the evolution of technology, data being moved to the cloud seems to be now common, leaving the firewall-protected enterprise premises.
Well, with all the great things cloud computing can offer who would even let that pass? From increased agility, flexibility, scalability or the significantly decreased capital and operational costs! It is definitely a great way to allow organizations to move their data into a more flexible resource while improving collaboration.
However, there are some cloud computing disadvantages that organizations must keep in mind before enjoying the full advantages of the cloud:
a)Third-party storage and processing of sensitive enterprise data; No doubt about it, no matter how beneficial cloud computing is to companies, many privacy-minded enterprises are still reluctant in trusting third-party cloud service providers with their sensitive corporate data. For the most part, cloud computing demands that organizations store information on cloud service providers’ infrastructure and allow their applications to access that data. The big question is: Can that data truly be safe? What if they (CSP) get breached?
(b) Decentralized data environment; Before, as we work within the protection of our network firewalls and other perimeter security technologies, data environments were simple and straightforward to secure. Cloud computing, on the other hand, shatters that paradigm by requiring that data to travel far beyond the enterprise perimeter to ultimately be housed in any one of a number of third-party data centers, many of them at far-flung locations. Enterprises can no longer rely on infrastructure security appliances and solutions to keep their data safe; They no longer have complete control of their data at all times. And trying to secure and keep tabs on all those different third-party services can be a daunting task.
With that said, we can’t deny the fact that although cloud computing lets us work easier, it is also making our data vulnerable to breaches while invisible to our IT.
Then, how do we secure our data sitting over the cloud?
CASB: Cloud Access Security Brokers
A cloud access security broker (CASB) is a software tool or service that sits between an organization’s on-premises infrastructure and a cloud provider’s infrastructure. It acts as a gatekeeper, allowing the organization to extend the reach of their security policies beyond their own infrastructure.
What does a CASB do?
Currently, nearly 80-90 percent of employees admit to using personal mobile devices for work purposes. What’s more, data is proliferating in the cloud at such a rapid pace that businesses are having trouble keeping up. They don’t know where everything is located, who has access to what, and what confidential information is (intentionally or unintentionally) being shared. This overflow of information and the use of unmanaged devices are a large part what’s contributing to the headache of cloud security in the first place.
A CASB ensures that a business’ IT department has visibility into all cloud programs, apps, files, data, and users anyone at the business is employing.
In short, a CASB provides a suite of security functions that work across platforms and cloud providers but are all managed from a single access point. And when configured correctly, will provide you several benefits!
- 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 risky usage of unsanctioned applications, and also identify the most vulnerable users who are at risk.
- 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 the enterprise data, are always looking to target insecure data networks. By deploying a 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, and even control external file sharing over the cloud network.
- Prevent Data Leakage: DLP solutions enable the organization to critically enforce and impose restrictions on user activities thereby not providing the chance to malicious intents to carry out their business. The restrictions can be in the form of device restriction, access restriction, restriction to Geo-location, time restriction, etc. Thus, deployment of a CASB solution gives a better control over granting permissions to users of different sets of an organization.
Through the Cloud Access Security Broker, administrators receive a real-time, detailed overview of all applications in use and information about which data has been accessed giving them full visibility of everything your company has put to the cloud.
Get protected now!
Due to the constantly increasing number of cloud applications and internet connections, it seems impossible to get a hold and protect your own data. But with Cloud Access Security Broker, sensitive data is treated flexibly and according to its classification plus, the visibility. With CASB, your company can improve collaboration while being protected all the way!
Not sure about how you can start implementing CASB on your enterprise? Contact us!