CASB solutions provide visibility, data control, and policy enforcement to enable secure cloud usage. In addition, CASBs enable real-time threat scanning and remediation across internal and external networks by information security teams.

In the modern work era, enterprises must nimbly enforce security policies between users and cloud-based applications. CASBs help balance access with data security in a way that fits the modern workforce’s unique needs.

Visibility

A cloud access security broker (CASB) solution provides visibility into your organization’s use of multiple cloud services and apps. It is essential to ensure data security, prevent compliance violations, and keep sensitive business information safe in the cloud.

As organizations move more workflows to the cloud, the need for security increases. Day-to-day operations such as allowing a third-party vendor to access your protected data or uploading files to a cloud solution seem harmless. Still, they can create security risks for your company.

In addition, the rise of remote work and bring-your-device (BYOD) for employees is creating a new challenge for organizations to keep data and applications secure. This new reality, more than ever, emphasizes the need for visibility into cloud deployments.

Cloud access security broker solutions provide this visibility with granular controls and unified policy management. They also protect enterprise systems against malware by encrypting data flows, making them unreadable to outside parties.

They can also prevent data loss by securing sensitive corporate data in the cloud with Data Loss Prevention (DLP) technology. IT teams can identify and block potential threats before they can harm the organization’s business.

Some CASBs are designed as part of an integrated security architecture called the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE). This approach combines web and application security with various capabilities, including CASB, to deliver granular visibility into and control over user activities across all devices.

Data Control

Cloud access security brokers (CASB) help ensure that data and applications stored in the cloud meet corporate security policies. These tools provide comprehensive protections, including malware prevention, data encryption, and authentication.

A CASB also provides a central hub for enforcing security policies across all network-based cloud services. As a result, it allows organizations to leverage their enterprise security policies in the cloud environment while extending them to cover the entire spectrum of cloud service providers and applications.

CASBs can also be used to manage to shadow IT, detect data leakage, and compromise threats through user behavior analysis. For example, a CASB can compile a comprehensive view of standard usage patterns for all cloud-based applications and then compare them to detect abnormal activities or suspicious logins.

A CASB can also identify regulated content that can be stored in or shared with a cloud service based on compliance regulations to secure enterprise data in the cloud further. This information can then be used to enforce security and governance requirements on these applications.

For cloud services that require a higher level of user access than standard, a CASB can apply layered security privileges to allow only the highest levels of access to authorized users. As a result, it enables businesses to protect data while allowing employees to use time-saving, cost-effective cloud services.

Policy Enforcement

A cloud access security broker (CASB) software application extends your organization’s security standards to your cloud services. It works by interposing your end users — whether they are accessing the cloud on desktops or mobile devices, working from remote networks, or using bring-your-own-device (BYOD) — and the cloud provider’s infrastructure.

CASBs can use multiple approaches to detect unauthorized cloud traffic, from inspecting incoming and outgoing network traffic to scanning a user’s device for malware. They can also use adaptive access controls based on the user’s role, risk level, and other contextual factors.

Policy enforcement is critical to a good CASB solution, allowing IT to enforce rules and regulations on all cloud services. For example, these policies might include enforcing a “no sharing outside of the company” rule on a category of unsanctioned cloud services or prohibiting users from using sanctioned cloud services without first gaining approval through your CASB.

A CASB can defend against cloud threats by monitoring suspicious or excessive logins, sending alerts, and employing advanced anti-malware and sandbox tools. It can also help to maintain compliance by addressing a wide range of regulations governing the privacy and safety of enterprise data.

Analytics

Cloud access security broker solutions provide visibility into the use of your cloud applications, allowing administrators to reduce risks and ensure compliance. They also monitor users and systems for suspicious activities to help identify threats and violations before they become significant.

The ability to detect insider threats is an essential feature of a good CASB solution. It includes identifying employees outside the organization or using former company email addresses to send malicious content or data.

Detecting insider threats involves monitoring user behavior and analyzing device data. Machine learning and big data analytics can be used to achieve this.

A CASB also needs to reduce the detection surface area by identifying sensitive data through document fingerprinting and using context (user, location, activity, etc.). It helps ensure that only valid user actions are filtered out, thus improving threat detection accuracy.

It can then shuttle any suspected violations to the IT department for further analysis, thereby increasing compliance and security. It can be essential for organizations concerned with HIPAA or HITECH compliance or those needing to comply with PCI regulations.