What is a CASB?
Cloud access security broker (CASB) technology serves as an intermediary between users and cloud platforms. It enables organizations to place a layer of protection and enforce policies for employees accessing cloud-based software. To achieve this, companies utilize cloud access security broker (CASB) software.
In other words, CASBs help secure the connections between employees (end users) and cloud service providers. They can protect the connected devices and data from malware and cloud-based threats. They can also identify malicious actors based on abnormal behavior and alert IT administrators of the same.
A cloud access security broker can help organizations enact security policies that help protect cloud data. Such policies may include encryption, threat detection, data management, risk assessment, device management, and more. CASBs can also help organizations identify shadow IT, which are IT systems or projects managed outside or without the knowledge or approval of the IT department.
A CASB can be viewed as a secure gateway through which organizations can enforce security requirements, which is crucial when employees interact with cloud service providers. It can also be thought of as a means to gain visibility and control over the cloud environment. Secure web gateways, secure email gateways, and firewall software are the primary software solutions that work similarly to a CASB. They may also work together with CASB products to strengthen organizations' security.
CASB products may offer features of single sign-on (SSO) software and may provide a single (secure) location for employees to access cloud-based applications. They may also enable users to launch and access cloud applications in a secured environment.
In short, along with reducing risks associated with cloud software applications and network connections, CASBs can help monitor user behavior and detect data leaks, malicious activity, and breaches of confidentiality.
Types of CASB
There are three main types of cloud access security brokers based on their architecture as follows:
- API-only CASB: This type of CASB architecture offers management abilities by remediating data leakage post the occurrences. API-only CASB does not operate in real time and does not offer identity control or zero-day threat protection. Most API-only CASB tools will offer data loss prevention (DLP) software features, enabling administrators to set policies to detect compliance violations.
- Multi-mode first-gen CASB: This CASB architecture type offers both administration and security but doesn’t offer zero-day protection. It requires proxy agents (a network management element acting as a middleman between an unmanaged device and a management system) on every device, which may cause interference with existing infrastructure, for example, secure web gateway proxies.
- Multi-mode next-gen CASB: This type of CASB architecture offers administration, security, and zero-day protection. It can dynamically adapt to provide protection for both known and unknown malware and data leakage risks on any application. It has integrated identity control and allows both agent-based and agent-less operation modes.
Basic elements of a CASB
Every CASB solution has four essential components that act as its backbone. They are also referred to as the four pillars of CASB and consist of:
- Visibility: A CASB can help organizations gain visibility into cloud application account usages, including information about who uses which cloud services, from which devices, and their departments and locations. A CASB may also provide useful financial information, such as reports on cloud spending.
- Data security: Data security is achieved by incorporating advanced data loss prevention techniques such as creating digital fingerprints of protected information. When sensitive data is discovered in the cloud or found on its way to the cloud, the CASB should offer the IT department the necessary options to instantly transfer suspected violations to on-premises systems for further analysis.
- Compliance: When companies transfer data to the cloud, they should make sure that they are compliant with requirements such as HIPPA, PCI, SOX, GDPR, and other regional regulations. CASBs can ensure full compliance with such regulations and help benchmark a company’s security configurations against regulatory requirements such as ISO 27001, CJIS, PCI DSS, and MAS.
- Threat protection: Employees can be negligent when it comes to spreading malware and other risks through cloud services. A CASB can protect companies from such cloud risks.
Benefits of using a CASB
A cloud access security broker offers numerous distinct advantages to organizations. It makes the entire experience of using cloud-based services and applications secure and makes it feasible to promote practices such as bring your own device (BYOD). The following are some of the benefits of using a CASB tool:
- Prevent security threats: CASB tools can help organizations defend against various threats. In most cases, these solutions help prevent or mitigate threats, including phishing, account takeover, and malware. Most CASB solutions can also help detect new cloud risks.
- Prevent data leakage: All data stored should be secured, and some data, for example, sensitive data, requires an extra level of protection. CASB products allow businesses to enforce user permission policies, restricting data from unauthorized access. This can control external file sharing. Datasets classified as “sensitive” may receive additional protection.
- Uncover shadow IT: As mentioned earlier, shadow IT refers to IT systems deployed without the knowledge of the IT department. Although many might argue that shadow IT speeds up innovation, improves business operations, and more, it can lead to numerous cybersecurity and compliance risks. It can also lead to user experience and performance issues. A CASB solution can help uncover shadow IT.
- Detect risky user behavior: The anomaly detection features of CASB software solutions are useful to monitor user behavior, compare it with benchmark patterns, and flag abnormal activities. Additionally, CASB tools can discover cloud applications and services employees utilize the most.
Secure web gateways vs. CASB
Secure web gateways (SWG) protect organizations against malware and malicious websites. It can scan web content for spam, malware, and viruses and filter them accordingly. It can identify and block dangerous URLs and offer policy enforcement abilities for compliant web browsing.
Both SWG and CASB can be considered a step up from firewalls, and both offer data and threat protection. A CASB solution with a native API integration typically offers better granular protection for cloud-based data. On the other hand, an SWG solution can help promote safe internet usage.
Amal Joby
Amal is a Research Analyst at G2 researching the cybersecurity, blockchain, and machine learning space. He's fascinated by the human mind and hopes to decipher it in its entirety one day. In his free time, you can find him reading books, obsessing over sci-fi movies, or fighting the urge to have a slice of pizza.
