A cloud access security broker solution is one of the important protections for your information. Because it provides security for cloud applications and data by allowing organizations to control access to their cloud resources.
By using this solution, companies can monitor and manage user activities across multiple clouds.
Introducing Cloud Access Security Broker Solution
Cloud access security brokers, or CASBs, extend cloud security beyond traditional perimeter defenses to include cloud services.
These solutions allow businesses to apply security policies and monitor user activity across multiple cloud services.
Examples of CASBs are CloudLock, CloudPassage Halo, and Zscaler cloud security.
The many main functions of the CASB are:
1. Authorization and access control,
2. Monitoring and auditing,
3. Redaction and data loss prevention,
4. Data encryption and key management,
5. Security policy enforcement,
6. Resource access management,
7. Cloud service vulnerability scanning and risk assessment
Cloud access security broker solutions are to enable users to access applications across multiple cloud providers. The cloud access security broker solution uses an agent to monitor.
And also enforce security policies as users access cloud applications. The agent sends information about the user’s activities to the cloud access security broker solution.
That evaluates the user’s policies and sends the results back to the agent. The agent then applies the policies and allows or denies user activities.
Steps Of Cloud Access Security Broker Solution
A cloud access security broker solutions consist of several devices, including:
Agent:
The agent is installed on endpoints to intercept user activities. Also, the agent can run on physical or virtual machines, depending on the architecture of our selected cloud provider.
The agent communicates with the CSAB server using HTTPS for communication over a TCP port. A protocol called OAuth is used for authentication and authorization between the CSAB server and the agents.
The protocol is used for authentication and authorization of a user Before allowing them access to a particular application or resource in a cloud environment.
The agent sends information about the user’s activities to the CSAB server.
Server:
It is an application that is used by all agents to communicate with each other. The CSAB server provides features such as:
- Centralized management of security policies across all users and applications
- Helpdesk support to manage security incidents
- Endpoint identity control
- Alerting and reporting for security incidents and threat detection
- Cloud workload access control
- Data protection
- User activity monitoring and logging
- Password policy enforcement
- Identity federation
- User self-service portal including single sign-on (SSO)
Integration with enterprise directories such as:
- LDAP
- Microsoft Active Directory (AD)
- Oracle Internet Directory (OID)
- Windows domain controller (DC)
- Etc.
Provisioning tools for cloud applications like Google Apps, Office 365, etc. Then the Policy engine uses rules based on factors like identity.
Also, location and users’ attributes to determine if they are allowed access to certain resources in cloud applications or not.
Conclusion:
Cloud access security broker solutions can be considered one of the best ways to secure your resources. In a private or public cloud environment.
They offer the benefit of visibility into user activities and allow you to control access to data within your organization and in the cloud. The above-mentioned cloud security solutions help you monitor.
And also audit user activity across multiple cloud services, even if they are from different vendors.