What is a CASB Vendor?

CASB vendors are technology companies that provide Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) products that secure applications in the cloud. CASB vendors may offer this technology as a service or as software deployed on-premises or in the cloud.

A CASB solution enforces a wide range of security policies for cloud services and for data stored or used in the cloud. Residing between users and cloud providers, the solutions offered by CASB vendors discover cloud apps, monitor cloud activity, authenticate user access and enforce security policies. With the help of CASB providers, organizations can improve threat protection, increase data security, simplify compliance, streamline management and improve visibility of cloud assets and cloud usage.

The massive migration of data, applications and IT assets to the cloud has created a fresh set of challenges for IT and security teams. 

• Less visibility. When moving data and applications to cloud providers, IT teams inevitably lose some control and a lot of visibility. 
• Larger attack surfaces. Cloud applications represent a new attack vector for cybercriminals, who may seek to exploit vulnerabilities, security misconfigurations and poor security hygiene to gain access to systems, steal funds and exfiltrate data. 
• Insider threats. With more employees accessing cloud applications as they work outside the traditional office, security teams may have a harder time identifying employees who are downloading, sending or transferring sensitive information without authorization. 
• Unsanctioned apps. Shadow IT is a growing problem as users attempt to share files, improve productivity or work around complicated security measures by turning to commercial cloud apps that aren’t sanctioned or governed by IT.
• Regulatory issues. With reduced visibility, IT teams may have difficulty ensuring that certain data is used, stored and accessed in compliance with a broad range of regulatory frameworks.

A CASB uses a variety of tools to monitor, analyze, filter, report and act on the activity of cloud applications and the users who interact with them. 

• Auto-discovery tools enable CASBs to identify the cloud applications within an organization’s IT environment, who is using them and how they are being used. By automatically identifying all cloud assets, CASBs help to improve visibility and eliminate security gaps.
• Gateways reside between cloud apps and users to deliver real-time insight into traffic and enforce security policy.
• Endpoint agents help to monitor activity and enforce policy on managed devices.
• Log data from Secure Web Gateways (SWGs) and firewalls helps analyze and secure traffic.

With these tools in others, solutions from CASB providers offer granular control over cloud traffic and data in ways that traditional solutions cannot. With a CASB service, organizations can:

• Control specific actions of individual users, such as blocking downloads of data to unapproved devices like USBs or personal mobile phones.
• Enforce security policy for data uploaded to, downloaded from or stored with cloud services.
• Encrypt confidential data that is subject to compliance regulations.
• Apply rights management policies to specific kinds of data.
• Analyze cloud traffic in real time to stop a compromised account from being accessed by a threat actor or to prevent mass downloads of files to an authorized device.
• Identify and block sensitive data from leaving the organization with CASB DLP capabilities.
• Uncover the use of unsanctioned apps and shadow IT.
• Monitor cloud usage to improve utilization, reduce costs and ensure capacity.
• Streamline management by enabling IT and security teams to set and enforce policies for all cloud applications from one location.
   

When choosing a CASB vendor, organizations are wise to look for several essential features and capabilities.

• Broad scope. The best CASB vendors will provide solutions that cover a large range of cloud applications and popular productivity platforms like Office 365 and Google Docs.
• Real-time monitoring. CASBs that can monitor, report and alert on activity in real time are better equipped to stop unauthorized uploads or downloads and prevent data breaches.
• App discovery. Superior solutions from CASB vendors enable organizations to immediately detect new apps that are added to the IT environment.
• Device identification. The ability to identify devices accessing corporate resources or cloud applications enables more nuanced filtering of potential threat signals.
• Activity baselines. Establishing a baseline of “normal” behavior for applications and users makes it easier to identify suspicious activity, unusual signals and the presence of threats.
• Automated action. CASBs must be able to trigger alerts and take action when a policy is violated or a threat is detected.
• Role-based access control. The ability to assign individuals to roles with a specific set of access rights helps streamline identity and access management.

Forcepoint offers market-leading solutions built to protect the modern enterprise. As a leading CASB vendor, Forcepoint offers a cloud access security broker as part of Forcepoint ONE, an all-in-one, cloud-native security platform. Forcepoint CASB delivers full visibility and control over data in any cloud application – including shadow IT – enabling safe, high-performance usage anywhere.

Forcepoint ONE CASB capabilities include integrated DLP with advanced threat protection to control sensitive data uploads and downloads and to stop malware hidden in business files. Granular access and data controls based on user, device or location enable fine-grained security policies that stop threats rather than productivity. 

Forcepoint ONE CASB detects and lists unmanaged SaaS apps in use, enabling administrators to build policies for company devices that can block access or display a message to the user directing them to approved applications.

Forcepoint ONE maximizes the availability of CASB technology by running on a hyperscaler-based cloud platform with over 300 points of presence, global accessibility and proven 99.99 percent uptime. And with demonstrable processes for controlling information, Forcepoint streamlines compliance with regulations concerning how organizations store and use sensitive data and confidential information.

Learn more about Forcepoint ONE and CASB pricing.