CLOUD ACCESS SECURITY BROKERS

What is a Cloud Access Security Broker?

A Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) is a software component (physical appliance or virtual) On-Premises or Cloud that acts as a control point of security policies between Cloud services consumers and Cloud services providers.

Based on a study, it has been observed that a regular employee uses 27 different Cloud services on average at work: collaboration, social media, content management or file sharing without company IT visibility or control (Shadow IT).

The main objective os a CASB is to extend corporate security towards the Cloud so companies will be able to take advantage of its multiple benefits:

• Major Agility
• Data Availability
• On Demand Applications & Infrastructures
• Additional Entreprise Collaboration
• Costs Reduction
• Competitive Advantage Increase

Using a CASB, employees will be able to use multiple Cloud services like (Office365, Google Apps, SalesForce, Box, etc.) without compromising company´s security levels, compliance or governance.

The functionalities of a CASB are splitted in four areas:

• Visibility
• Compliance
• Data Security
• Threats Prevention

Gartner claims that in 2020, 95% of large companies will use a CASB to provide security to its Cloud services where as now, only 5% are using it.