A Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) is a software tool that acts as an enforcement point for enterprise security policies. It enables visibility into cloud services, enforces data security policy, implements threat identification and protection, and maintains compliance.
A wide range of organizations uses CASBs. They are essential to securing SaaS applications and preventing data leakage from employees, third parties, or compromised accounts.
Create a Cloud Security Policy
Creating a solid policy is one of the most critical steps in cloud security. This involves mapping out your company’s data security needs and developing a comprehensive plan for protecting that information.
You can use a framework like the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to guide you through this process. This will help you determine the best practices to implement.
After that, your team should work with internal stakeholders to create a genuinely secure policy for your business. This will require the assistance of IT leadership and other professionals with specialized skills.
In addition, it should be reviewed by senior leadership to ensure that it adequately covers all of the relevant issues.
Lastly, your cloud security policy should include specific measures for each data type stored in the cloud. This should consist of encryption, access control, and data loss prevention.
Enable Multi-Factor Authentication
When a user has to provide two or more authentication factors to log in to a service, it’s more difficult for cybercriminals and digital adversaries to compromise the identity of an account. That’s why enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is essential for cloud security.
MFA requires a combination of something the user knows (like a PIN or password), something the user has (like a smartcard or physical token) and something the user is (like a fingerprint or other biometric) to log in. That means that even if an attacker compromises one of these factors, they won’t be able to access the account.
The shift to the cloud has made it exponentially more difficult for IT organizations to maintain visibility into how their data is used in cloud environments and applications. With this visibility, they can ensure that the use of their data complies with their organization’s governance, risk, and compliance policies.
Encryption is Key
CASB security is a powerful tool for security teams to control data in and access the cloud. It allows organizations to manage granular visibility into cloud services, users, applications and activities. It also provides a variety of controls based on user identity, service, application, activity or location.
In today’s cloud-native environment, it’s more complex than ever for companies to maintain visibility into where their data is used across multiple cloud environments and applications. If an organization can’t “see” its data, it cannot ensure that it complies with its broader governance, risk, and compliance processes.
A CASB solution can establish and enforce data loss prevention (DLP) tools and processes to combat this. Moreover, it can proactively monitor the cloud security environment for policy violations.
When choosing a CASB, selecting a vendor with a track record of preventing and quickly resolving breaches is essential. Evaluating potential vendors using media coverage and analyst reports is a good idea.
Enforce Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Policies
Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) offer various data loss prevention (DLP) features and protection capabilities to help your organization mitigate the risk of sensitive data leaks. They can also detect and prevent threats, including ex-employees who re-enter your company’s cloud environment, privileged users, and compromised accounts with access to critical business information.
CASB solutions also provide visibility into the movement of data, enabling your IT team to determine what’s being stored in cloud applications and who is using it. With a clear view of all data, your IT team can ensure that cloud usage meets your security and compliance policies.
A CASB helps simplify compliance with HIPAA, GDPR and PCI DSS regulations by automating reporting and detecting potential violations. It can also help you identify areas of high risk and focus your compliance efforts on addressing them.
Ensure Security Monitoring is in Place
Whether considering a CASB solution or already using one, it is essential to ensure that security monitoring is in place. This will give you visibility into how your organization uses cloud services and data and help your IT team monitor user activity and detect policy breaches.
For example, Shadow IT is a growing concern for many organizations, as developers use their accounts to create workloads that may be vulnerable to unauthorized access. Using a CASB to monitor these instances can help your IT team respond quickly and effectively.
The granular visibility provided by a CASB helps you to manage your company’s cloud usage with varying controls based on identity, service, application, activity, location or endpoint. This enables your organization to better identify threats, policy violations and anomalous behavior as they arise and automatically take action to remediate them.
Ensure that your CASB abides by modern privacy standards and only examines corporate data. This will protect your users’ privacy and ensure compliance with industry regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS or FINRA.
