CASB Requirements: What You Need to Know to Secure Your Cloud

In the modern cloud landscape, the question isn’t whether or not you need a cloud access security broker (CASB) — it’s how to choose the right one and implement it effectively. Malicious attacks are on the rise, and so are remote and hybrid workforces, making it more important than ever to be proactive about data security. The right CASB should consolidate multiple security policy enforcement functions and apply them throughout your cloud applications, protecting everything from onsite computers to remote laptops and smartphones.

But how do you find the right CASB and incorporate it into your cloud environment? It starts with knowing what to look for. Keep these essential CASB requirements in mind as you search for the best solution to secure your cloud, safeguard sensitive data, and maintain regulatory compliance.

5 CASB requirements to prioritize

Data security

Moving operations to SaaS apps benefits organizations in many ways; it’s often cost-effective and increases operational efficiency in an always-online world. However, with that evolution comes a need to protect your data in the cloud. Your CASB must offer comprehensive data security that reduces your exposure to threats, whether caused by malicious actors or human error.

An effective CASB solution should start by leveraging data loss prevention (DLP) capabilities and building on them to address any weaknesses. Look for granular data protection features like access control, redacting, masking, watermarking, and email security. Make sure your CASB protects your data both in transit and at rest to ensure maximum security coverage.

Threat detection

New cybersecurity threats are constantly emerging, which means it’s not enough for your CASB to protect your data from existing vulnerabilities. You need a solution that proactively addresses novel security issues by immediately alerting you to anomalies in the cloud environment.

But that’s just the first step. For a CASB to truly protect against incoming threats, it also needs to actively mitigate them. Adaptive security analyzes user behaviors and leverages those insights in its automatic threat detection. This allows your organization to stay vigilant against malware and other hazards while implementing cloud security best practices.

Visibility beyond managed SaaS apps

Another key facet of cloud security is visibility that goes beyond officially sanctioned SaaS apps and IT control. If your employees are spread out remotely, they’re likely using unmanaged devices and apps. By only monitoring and addressing threats to your sanctioned SaaS line-up, you could be missing the red flags that turn into serious breaches. That’s why you need a CASB that detects how data is exchanged across all devices and programs employees use, including shadow IT. 

In practice, that means your CASB should provide detailed activity logs of all cloud transactions, such as who’s logging in, what they’re accessing, and if they’ve downloaded any data. You need to be aware if someone in your organization shares sensitive data without authorization or uses an off-limits app. Without this visibility, your CASB is leaving your company vulnerable.

Compliance

Maintaining compliance in the cloud can be a time-consuming, labor-intensive process, and the evolving nature of cyber threats has made it even more complex. If your company operates within a highly regulated industry, having a CASB with built-in compliance checks is essential. 

The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), a nonprofit cloud security research platform, recommends “policy controls and remediation workflows that enforce regulatory compliance in real time for every industry, from GDPR and SOX to PCI and HIPAA.” In other words, choose a CASB with robust auditing and reporting tools that apply to your industry’s regulations.

You should be able to collect and correlate data from all of the cloud apps your organization uses, as well as compare historical and real-time information. Your CASB can then automatically maintain compliance through clearly defined policies.

Seamless integration

One CASB requirement that’s easy to overlook is integration with your existing systems. Your CASB could be the most secure, compliant, and visible solution ever created, but that’s not going to get you very far if it doesn’t work with the rest of your infrastructure. Think about the tools you use on a daily basis: SaaS platforms, communication apps, CRMs, email, the list goes on. If your CASB doesn’t work across all of those programs, your data is at risk.

Many CASB providers will list compatible apps in their documentation, but the CSA advises taking a more proactive approach and contacting CASB platforms directly. By asking for a proof of concept rather than checking off a list of apps, you’ll be able to more effectively evaluate how the CASB fits into your digital infrastructure.

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Secure your cloud by asking the right questions

When your data lives across various cloud environments, protecting it becomes more challenging than ever. Finding the right solution means knowing the CASB requirements to look for and asking the right questions. If you’re not sure what those questions are, Lookout can help.

Safeguarding Cloud Data with CASB: 4 Key Questions to Consider explains how CASBs serve as cloud-native DLP solutions for multi-cloud environments. You’ll also learn how to properly evaluate CASB solutions and find the option that best suits your company. Download the e-book today.