Did you know that, according to PBS NewsHour, ransomware attacks are rising in the US and by extension Canada? Additionally, many recent attacks have demonstrated that critical infrastructure is not safe from the threat of cybercrime.
Considering this, you might be worried about ransomware attacks or other types of cybersecurity issues at your business. This can be quite stressful, especially if you don’t know which software or strategies are best.
Fortunately, there is a solution: CASB, or Cloud Access Security Broker; a cloud-based Internet security platform that allows organizations to apply Internet security controls inside and outside the corporate network. With 99% of all security breaches originating through web clients or e-mail, it is relatively easy to understand the need to secure Internet traffic on devices connected to corporate networks or accessing organization data.
In this article, we’ll review why CASB is the most important tool in your IT security arsenal, or at least the second most important next to cybersecurity education of users. Finally, you can ensure that your business data and networks are as secure as possible. Read on to learn more.
Important in Replacing Traditional Client VPNs
One of the reasons why you should think about using a CASB IT solution is that it’s important in replacing traditional client VPNs. In the past, VPNs were a great solution to connect to corporate networks, as they made it possible for employees in a business to “tunnel” into their business’ applications and data.
However, as more businesses go remote and store more on the cloud, the VPN solution no longer works as well. Furthermore, reliance on client VPNs on organization-managed or unmanaged (bring your own device or BYOD) computers presents serious security risks for organizations as users are effectively extending the corporate network into their homes or other untrusted networks.
Now, with businesses storing data and applications in public and private clouds, the VPN ends up becoming a bottleneck. It makes it difficult for data to travel from and to the cloud.
This is where the CASB solution can help. With this solution, an IT administrator can manage data and applications in the cloud.
Part of their role when using this type of solution is to encrypt and authenticate the data for employees who are working remotely.
Because this solution is more effective than the traditional client VPN solution, this is a reason to choose a CASB solution as part of your security arsenal.
You Can Secure Corporate Networks Against Malware and Other Threats
When you’re using a CASB security solution, you can secure corporate networks against malware and other threats. To understand its importance ask the question, “What is CASB and how does this IT security solution work?”
Basically, CASB provides a consistent, unified method by which users can access cloud resources regardless of where the IT resources or the users are located. This differs from traditional “hub-and-spoke” web security platforms offered by next-generation firewall (NGFW) vendors where Internet traffic needs to backhaul from VPN users or branch offices in order to apply security controls which adds latency and degrades performance. Or, from branch office architectures that each have their own Internet and NGFW configured to secure Internet traffic, but leads to the problem of increased management overhead and opportunity for inconsistency in configuration. With a CASB platform, the security follows the user, no matter where they are.
What’s important to note is that this way of managing and controlling is unified.
Threat Protection
Many CASB security solutions provide an extra shielding layer that protects your users and network from inbound threats. This is because the CASB is positioned between cloud apps and users. They can detect these threats and aid in their remediation.
For example, as a CASB platform inspects all Internet traffic, users attempting to download malicious files (intentionally or unintentionally) will have the threat detected and blocked in transit before it touches the user’s endpoint. Or, users attempting to access known malicious websites will be blocked from doing so.
This threat protection is especially effective when you use a CASB solution that can integrate with popular cloud apps, event management systems, and security information systems.
Shadow IT Control
Users accessing unsanctioned applications is an ongoing risk area for IT and security teams. As organizations tighten up, security controls are lagging behind serving users’ needs. Oftentimes users will find their own application solutions, which may mean applications that pose risks, or are not authorized for use on corporate devices. This is especially true of cloud apps \ SaaS solutions such as file-sharing platforms (Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, etc.) which may present data exfiltration risks to the organization.
You can determine which cloud apps your employees are using, how much data they consume, as well as how much time they spend using the application. This makes it easier to identify shadow IT, which is the use of resources or apps that are being used but not sanctioned.
This will make your employees’ access to the cloud safer than if they were using a large variety of apps that are not sanctioned. It also makes it easier to follow compliance and regulations in your industry.
You Can Manage What Sites Employees Can Access
Another reason why CASB is an important tool in your security arsenal is that you can manage what sites employees can access. You can use this feature to ensure your employees are more productive or to prevent them from visiting compromised websites.
You Can Use CASB With DLP
DLP, short for Data Loss Prevention, is the technology used to protect your business’ data assets from exfiltration. Whether you’re following consumer privacy regulations such as HIPAA, CCPA, or GDPR, or you simply want to protect your own corporate data, having DLP is often essential for running a business.
Often, DLP on its own does not provide as much coverage for cloud environments as CASB does.
For this reason, it’s important to find a CASB solution that can integrate with DLP solutions. When you use this type of CASB solution, you can prevent users from stealing data via apps that connect to the cloud or unintentional exposure including sensitive information such as credit card or social security numbers in website submissions.
As a result, you can keep your business data safe and avoid possible violations.
Are You Looking for a CASB Solution?
Now that you’ve learned about why CASB is the most important tool in your IT security arsenal, you might be looking for a CASB solution. In this case, you should look no further than Cato Networks. Cato is the industry’s first SASE solution as defined by Gartner, and as a cloud-native platform, ensures your WAN and endpoints use a common security policy. Ferroque Systems is specialized in Cato Network’s SASE platform as a leading North American partner. Contact us to learn more!
