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With the expansion of cloud services, information security, and data access control have become one of the most important challenges for organizations. Cloud Security includes a set of solutions and technologies to protect data, applications, and cloud-based infrastructure against cyber threats. In this regard, Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) is considered a key solution to increase the security of access to cloud services and manage the threats associated with them. In this blog post on MonoVM, we’ll answer “What is a Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)?”. Also, we’ll explore how it works, its benefits and drawbacks. Let’s get started.
What is a Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)?
A Cloud Access Security Broker or CASB is a type of security solution that helps protect services hosted in the cloud such as a cloud VPS. CASBs help protect SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS applications from cyberattacks and data breaches. CASB providers typically offer their services as cloud-hosted software, although some CASBs also offer on-premise software or hardware.
Several security technologies fall under the CASB umbrella, and a CASB solution typically bundles these technologies together. These technologies include Shadow IT Discovery, Access Control, and Data Loss Prevention (DLP), among several others. Think of a CASB as a physical security company that provides multiple services (such as monitoring, patrolling, authentication, etc.) to keep a complex secure, rather than a single security guard. Similarly, CASBs offer a range of services, not just a single one, which simplifies the process of protecting cloud data.
What are the benefits of CASB?
Benefits of using a Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) include:
- Work with a single provider: With CASB, as an organization, you'll only work with a single CASB provider for security services rather than several vendors.
- Integrated security: For more effective and coordinated security, technologies function smoothly together.
- Simplified management: IT teams can handle cloud security tools more easily, which lowers complexity.
- Centralized Control: Some CASBs provide a single dashboard where you can manage all cloud security services. It helps to streamline administration and supervision.
- Better security posture: Protecting data is not easy in cloud environments as they make traditional on-site security less effective with their diverse access points, remote data storage, and increased complexity. But CASB handles these difficulties.
How Does CASB Work?
If you want to know how CASB works, continue reading these steps:
1- Identify and monitor cloud services
CASB first identifies all cloud services used within the organization and assesses the risk level of each. This tool allows viewing unauthorized applications and Shadow IT by continuously monitoring traffic and user activities.
2- Enforce security policies
After identifying cloud services, CASB enforces the organization's security policies on data and users. These policies include access control, data leakage prevention (DLP), and multi-factor authentication (MFA) to prevent misuse and unauthorized access.
3- Data encryption and protection
One of the key capabilities of CASB is the encryption of sensitive data during transmission and storage. This prevents attackers from accessing its content, even if the information is stolen, thus maintaining data confidentiality.
4- Detect threats and respond to attacks
CASB uses artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to detect suspicious activity, prevent cyberattacks, and identify malware. It also enables rapid threat response by integrating with SIEM and other security tools.
5- Ensure security compliance
CASB ensures compliance with laws and regulations and prevents fines and legal risks by continuously reviewing the organization’s compliance with security standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO 27001.
What are the four pillars of CASB security?
The reputable industry analyst firm Gartner defines four main pillars for cloud access security brokers (CASBs):
- Visibility: CASB solutions help identify shadow IT—systems and processes (especially cloud services) that are not formally registered and may pose unknown security risks.
- Data Security: CASBs prevent confidential data from leaving company-controlled systems and help maintain the integrity of that data. This capability is especially important with the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, where employees may attempt to load protected data. Key technologies in this area include access control and data loss prevention (DLP).
- Threat Protection: In addition to preventing data leakage, CASBs block external threats and attacks. Technologies such as Anti-Malware Detection, Sandboxing, Packet Inspection, URL Filtering, and Browser Isolation all help block cyberattacks.
- Compliance: Due to the distributed nature of the cloud and its operation outside of direct company control, it is difficult for companies operating in the cloud to meet stringent regulatory requirements such as SOC 2, HIPAA, or GDPR. In some industries and regions, failure to comply with these standards can expose companies to heavy fines. By implementing strong security controls, CASBs help companies that store their data in the cloud and run their business processes in the cloud achieve regulatory compliance. This is an important consideration when evaluating Web Hosting vs Cloud Hosting.
Key Features of Cloud Access Security Brokers
CASBs offer key features like showing you how cloud services are being used, enforcing security rules, preventing data leaks, and spotting threats. Here are the key features of CASBs in detail:
Transparency and monitoring of cloud services
CASB helps organizations gain complete visibility into the cloud services used by users. This tool assesses the risk level of each cloud service by identifying authorized and unauthorized applications (Shadow IT) and provides detailed information about user activity, the type of data transferred, and where it is stored.
Access control and enforcement of security policies
Using CASB, organizations can enforce specific security policies for users, devices, and cloud services. These policies include multi-factor authentication (MFA), access control based on user roles, and restrictions on the use of sensitive data. This capability prevents unauthorized access and enhances information security.
Data Leakage Prevention (DLP)
One of the most important capabilities of CASB is the protection of sensitive organizational data in cloud environments. This tool prevents the disclosure of confidential information by identifying, classifying, and encrypting data. CASB can also set DLP policies based on data type and sensitivity, preventing the unwanted transmission of important information.
Detect threats and prevent cyberattacks
CASB uses artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to identify unusual behaviors, suspicious activities, and internal and external threats. This tool can detect attacks such as malware, intrusion attempts, and account abuse, and automatically respond to them. In addition, CASB integration with other security systems such as SIEM and EDR increases the organization's defense capabilities.
Security Technologies Offered by CASB Solutions
Most CASB solutions offer some or all of the following security technologies:
- Identity Verification: Ensures that a user is who they claim to be by checking multiple identity factors, such as a password or possession of a physical token.
- Access Control: Controls what users can see and do in company-controlled applications.
- Shadow IT Discovery: Identifies systems and services that internal employees are using for business purposes without proper authorization.
- Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Prevents data leaks and stops data from leaving company-owned platforms.
- URL Filtering: Blocks websites that attackers use for phishing or malware attacks.
- Packet Inspection: Inspect incoming and outgoing network traffic for malicious activity.
- Sandboxing: Runs applications and code in an isolated environment to determine whether they are malicious.
- Browser Isolation: Runs users’ browsers on a remote server instead of on the user’s device, protecting the device from malicious code that might run in the browser.
- Anti-Malware Detection: Identifies malicious software.
This list is not exhaustive, as CASBs can offer several other security products in addition to those listed. Some of these technologies are also found in other security products. For example, many firewalls offer packet inspection capabilities, and many endpoint security products offer anti-malware capabilities. However, CASBs package these technologies specifically for cloud computing. When comparing solutions like Edge Computing vs Cloud Computing, it’s important to consider how CASBs address security across these environments.
To provide a complete set of CASB services, many of the major providers have, at some point, acquired a product or company and integrated it into their existing offerings. They may also partner with external companies to provide additional services.
Best CASB providers
If you own a business, it’s so important for you to know who the best cloud security providers are. If you want to properly protect your cloud data from leaks, hackers, and other cyberattacks, you should choose the best. Here are the best CASB providers:
Symantec
Symantec Corporation is a computer security company known for its popular Norton antivirus, so its track record is well established. Symantec's CASB is called CloudSOC Cloud Access Security Broker. The high performance of this service, thanks to machine learning algorithms that systematically implement security measures based on each situation, earned it a Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice rating in 2019.
Oracle
Oracle CASB is a solution offered by the company within the extensive Oracle Cloud Services ecosystem. Although Oracle is not primarily a cybersecurity company, its service belongs to one of the companies that offer the best cloud resources in the world.
Oracle CASB uses machine learning techniques to identify behavioral patterns and implement security baselines. In addition, it employs Oracle’s proprietary modeling techniques to identify different levels of risk across hundreds of threat vectors.
Microsoft
Microsoft's CASB is called Microsoft Cloud App Security (MCAS). This solution allows for a very high level of visibility and control over data flows, along with advanced analytics for threat detection. This CASB solution also integrates seamlessly with all Microsoft applications.
McAfee
McAfee, also known as McAfee VirusScan, is a well-known antivirus developer that also offers a CASB security solution. Skyhigh Security Cloud, which received a 2019 Gartner Peer Insights Customer Choice Award, is a CASB for McAfee's MVISION Cloud. This CASB offers a family of security products for Office 365, Shadow IT, and the growing phenomenon of services like AWS, Box, and Salesforce.
Common use cases for CASB
You can use CASB for the following purposes:
- Creating Insight: A 2021 study found that as much as 97 percent of cloud applications used by companies can be classified as "Shadow IT." A CASB provides insight into all cloud applications in use, allowing you to know exactly who is using them and how. This is how a CASB combats Shadow IT.
- Fine-Grained Cloud Access Control: Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach that blocks services, CASBs allow you to fine-tune access to cloud services. For example, you can grant access based on identity, service, activity, application, or data. Additionally, you can define policies based on service category or risk and choose from actions such as block, warn, bypass, encrypt, quarantine, etc.
- Securing Data: A CASB offers advanced Data Leakage Prevention (DLP) to map and protect sensitive data. Depending on the CASB solution, this can apply to data that is "at rest" or "in motion" to a sanctioned cloud service. Data loss is prevented, for example, through encryption, tokenization, or upload prevention.
- Protection Against Threats: Attackers can use cloud services to spread malware. CASBs protect your organization by detecting abnormalities in behavior and network traffic, which can indicate malware. They also detect if an employee tries to share or upload an infected file (whether intentionally or unintentionally).
- Compliance: Compliance with laws and regulations must be ensured when using cloud services. CASBs help by ensuring cloud access policies align with applicable laws and regulations.
Challenges and Considerations in Using CASB
After discussing all the benefits and features that come with a CASB, now you should know it has some challenges and considerations that you should know:
- Scalability: CASBs must manage large volumes of data across multiple cloud platforms and applications. Companies must ensure that the CASB provider can scale and grow alongside their organization.
- Mitigation: Not all CASBs have the ability to stop security threats once they are identified. Depending on the situation, a CASB without threat mitigation capabilities may be of limited use to an organization.
- Integration: Companies must ensure that their CASB integrates with all of their systems and infrastructure. Without full integration, a CASB will not have complete visibility into Shadow IT and potential security threats.
- Data Privacy: Does the CASB provider keep data private, or is it just another external entity with access to sensitive data? If a CASB moves its customers' data to the cloud, how secure and private will that data be? These questions are especially important for organizations operating under strict data privacy regulations.
Conclusion
With the increasing use of cloud services, data security, and access control to these services have become major challenges for organizations. CASB, as an advanced security solution, provides the ability to monitor, control, and protect organizational data in the cloud. Choosing the right CASB tool requires a careful review of the features, benefits, and limitations of each solution to ensure it suits organizational needs and security policies.