The role of CASB in SASE: Securing cloud access
If your organization uses cloud-hosted services, then you need a specific cloud security strategy. The same applies if you use corporate Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), or even Platform as a Service (PaaS) solutions, as all of these services are at risk of cyberattacks and data leaks. Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) solutions play a vital role in providing visibility, compliance, and security for cloud applications.
The great thing about CASBs is that it is integrated within the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture and plays a part in enhancing cloud security by offering comprehensive controls and protections. Keep reading to understand the role and benefits of CASBs so you can make informed decisions about your cloud security strategy and leverage the full potential of SASE to secure your digital transformation journey.
What is a Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB?
A Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) is a security policy enforcement point positioned between cloud service consumers and cloud service providers. CASBs provide a range of security functions, including:
- Visibility into cloud usage.
- Data security.
- Threat protection.
- Compliance.
The role of CASB in cloud security
CASBs help organizations enforce security policies for accessing cloud services, ensuring that sensitive data remains protected and that regulatory requirements are met via the following capabilities:
1. Visibility into cloud usage
One of the primary functions of a CASB is to provide visibility into how cloud services are used within an organization. CASBs monitor cloud traffic and offer detailed insights into user activities, including which applications are being accessed, who is using them, and what data is being transmitted.
Benefits:
- Identifying shadow IT: CASBs discover unauthorized cloud applications (shadow IT) being used by employees, which can pose significant security risks.
- User activity monitoring: By tracking user activities, CASBs enable organizations to detect unusual behavior that might indicate a security breach or policy violation.
- Detailed reporting: CASBs provide comprehensive reports on cloud usage, helping organizations make informed decisions about their cloud security strategies.
2. Data security and protection
As we’ve mentioned, data security is a critical concern for organizations using cloud services.
CASBs offer robust data protection features to keep corporate data secure and compliant with regional regulations.
Benefits:
- Encryption: CASBs encrypt data at rest and in transit, ensuring that sensitive information remains protected from unauthorized access.
- Data Loss Prevention (DLP): CASBs enforce DLP policies which prevent the accidental or malicious leakage of sensitive data. This includes monitoring data transfers and blocking unauthorized sharing of protected information.
- Tokenization: CASBs replace sensitive data with tokens, which can be securely stored and transmitted without exposing the original information.
3. Threat protection
CASBs enhance cloud security by providing advanced threat protection capabilities. They respond to cloud-based threats in real-time through a range of beneficial features.
Benefits:
- Threat detection: CASBs continuously monitor cloud environments for signs of malware, account compromise, and other threats. They use advanced analytics to identify and block suspicious activities.
- Anomaly detection: By establishing baselines for normal behavior, CASBs can detect anomalies that might indicate a security incident, such as unusual login patterns or data access attempts.
- Incident response: CASBs provide tools for responding to security incidents, including automated remediation actions, alerting, and forensic analysis.
4. Compliance and regulatory adherence
Meeting compliance requirements is a significant challenge for organizations using cloud services. CASBs help ensure compliance by enforcing security policies and providing audit and reporting capabilities.
Benefits:
- Policy enforcement: CASBs enforce compliance policies for cloud usage, ensuring that data handling practices meet regulatory standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA.
- Audit trails: CASBs maintain detailed logs of user activities and security events, providing a comprehensive audit trail for regulatory purposes.
- Reporting: CASBs generate compliance reports that demonstrate adherence to regulatory requirements and help organizations prepare for audits.
The SASE architecture integrates networking and security functions into a unified, cloud-delivered service model. CASB is a critical component of SASE, enhancing cloud security and providing comprehensive controls.
Here’s how CASB fits into the SASE framework:
1. Unified security and networking
SASE combines CASB with other security functions, such as Secure Web Gateway (SWG), Firewall as a Service (FWaaS), and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), along with networking capabilities like Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN). This integration ensures consistent security policies across all access points and provides a holistic approach to security.
Benefits:
- Consistent policy enforcement: Integrating CASB within SASE ensures that security policies are uniformly applied across all cloud services and access points.
- Simplified management: SASE provides centralized management of security functions, making it easier for organizations to monitor and control cloud access and security.
2. Enhanced threat detection and response
CASBs within the SASE framework benefit from the collective threat intelligence and analytics capabilities of the integrated security components. This collaborative approach enhances threat detection and response capabilities.
Benefits:
- Comprehensive threat intelligence: SASE leverages threat intelligence from multiple sources, providing a more comprehensive view of the threat landscape.
- Coordinated response: Integrating CASB with other SASE components enables coordinated responses to security incidents, improving overall security posture.
3. Scalability and flexibility
SASE’s cloud-native architecture allows CASBs to scale seamlessly with organizational needs. This flexibility is crucial for accommodating growing cloud usage and evolving security requirements.
Benefits:
- Scalability: CASBs can scale their protection capabilities according to the volume of cloud traffic and the number of users.
- Adaptability: The flexible nature of SASE allows organizations to adapt their security measures as new threats emerge and business needs change.
4. Improved user experience
By integrating CASB within the SASE framework, organizations can optimize cloud access while ensuring security. This integration enhances the user experience by providing seamless and secure access to cloud applications.
Benefits:
- Seamless access: Users can securely access cloud applications without experiencing performance degradation or connectivity issues.
- Reduced latency: SASE’s optimized routing and connectivity features minimize latency, ensuring a smooth user experience.
Real-world applications of CASB
Use case 1: Managing shadow IT
A financial services company discovers that employees are using unauthorized cloud applications to share sensitive information, posing significant security risks.
By deploying a CASB within the SASE framework, the company can:
- Discover unauthorized applications: The CASB identifies and monitors all cloud applications being used within the organization, providing visibility into shadow IT.
- Enforce security policies: The CASB enforces security policies for cloud usage, blocking unauthorized applications and ensuring that only approved services are used.
- Protect sensitive data: The CASB implements DLP policies to prevent the accidental or malicious sharing of sensitive financial information.
Use case 2: Ensuring compliance in healthcare
A healthcare provider must comply with stringent data protection regulations such as HIPAA. By integrating a CASB with their SASE solution, the provider can:
- Enforce compliance policies: The CASB ensures that all cloud usage complies with HIPAA requirements, enforcing policies for data handling and access control.
- Monitor and report: The CASB provides detailed logs and reports on cloud usage, helping the provider demonstrate compliance and prepare for audits.
- Protect patient data: The CASB encrypts patient data and enforces DLP policies to prevent unauthorized access and sharing of protected health information.
The benefits of CASB as part of your SASE framework
It’s clear that there are a lot of benefits to integrating CASB within the SASE framework. To summarize, these are:
- Comprehensive security: Combining CASB with other SASE components provides comprehensive security coverage across all access points and cloud services.
- Simplified management: SASE’s centralized management platform simplifies the administration of security policies and controls. Organizations can manage CASB functions alongside other security and networking components, reducing complexity and operational overhead.
- Scalability and flexibility: The cloud-native architecture of SASE allows CASBs to scale with the needs of the organization. So as you scale your cloud usage up or down, you can simultaneously flex and scale your CASBs to meet your evolving security requirements.
- Enhanced user experience: CASBs ensure that users have seamless and secure access to cloud applications.
- Cost optimization: By consolidating multiple security functions into a unified SASE solution, you can reduce the need for multiple point solutions and hardware appliances, reducing operational costs.
Enhance your cloud security with SASE from Expereo
Expereo can support your cloud security strategy by deploying CASBs as part of our SASE solution to provide that all-important visibility into your cloud usage, data security, threat protection, and compliance enforcement, so your organization can protect its sensitive information and ensure regulatory adherence.
Get in touch to discuss your needs.