7 CASB Use Cases to Protect Cloud-Based Resources

Cybersecurity leaders already know the importance of a data loss prevention (DLP) solution. They also know DLP has its limits. As cloud applications have grown more common, they’ve introduced gaps in the DLP shield. SaaS apps present new opportunities for data leakage, accidental sharing, and insider threats.

To plug those gaps, you need a cloud access security broker (CASB). CASBs don’t just give you visibility into your many cloud apps — they also empower you to apply and enforce your security policies across those apps. Here are some of the most valuable CASB use cases.

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7 key CASB use cases

1. Maintain visibility on cloud apps and services

When employees use cloud services without the IT department’s knowledge or approval, they introduce significant security risks. IBM research indicates that 45% of security breaches are cloud-based. That’s in part because this cloud-based shadow IT hasn’t been vetted for security or compliance. Worse still, the IT team can’t enforce security policies on those apps because it has no visibility into them.

Understanding your cloud landscape is one of the four central cloud security best practices. It’s also one of the essential CASB use cases. A CASB can generate discovery reports that identify all the cloud apps and services in use across your organization. When new apps appear, your CASB can alert you. That way you can minimize shadow IT and enforce security policies wherever your employees work.

2. Assess cloud apps’ risk and compliance

With cloud apps, knowing is half the battle. When you review your CASB’s discovery reports, you can evaluate the risk and compliance levels of the apps your employees use. A CASB can compare each app’s security measures against your policies. It can also help you determine whether or not the app meets any compliance regulations that govern your industry.

Your CASB can set granular restrictions about who can use which apps and how. To take those protections a step further, it can incorporate adaptive access controls based on the principles of zero trust. If an employee’s device fails a health check or a user is acting suspiciously, you can limit their access to cloud apps accordingly. These granular controls help to keep your data safe.

3. Guard data in cloud storage

Cloud apps are central to collaboration for an increasingly distributed workforce. Lots of sensitive data travels through them. That’s great for efficient teamwork, but it can make it challenging to effectively enforce DLP policies.

A CASB can scan files when they’re uploaded to any cloud app your team uses, from Slack to Google Drive. It can then identify any files containing sensitive information and apply protections. Several options are on the table, including encryption, quarantining, and outright deletion. Your CASB can also spot policy violations, apply data labels, and restrict information automatically.

4. Protect data downloaded to unmanaged devices

Employees on the go are liable to download work files stored in the cloud to their personal devices — but that’s not a problem for a CASB with integrated DLP capabilities. The visibility it provides lets you spot unmanaged devices using your cloud apps. If they try to download something sensitive, you can prevent it altogether.

However, sometimes workers need to use unmanaged devices. Your CASB can allow for that while applying protective measures like encrypting or masking sensitive data. That way, employee work flows smoothly while staying safe.

5. Identify compromised user accounts

Whether they use social engineering or credential stuffing, threat actors can worm their way into your systems while looking like legitimate workers. Using that disguise, they can steal information and wreak havoc.

Luckily, one of the most effective CASB use cases can help is to apply UEBA to your cloud apps. Consider the UK-based healthcare platform Lantum. Its CASB implementation used Lookout Secure Cloud Access to build a behavioral profile for each user in the organization. Now, if anyone starts to perform unusual actions, the CASB can raise an alert. Using user and entity behavioral analytics (UEBA) technology, if the system spots impossible travel, mass downloads, or other eyebrow-raising moves, it can take automatic action to limit that user’s access. That lets Lantum enforce security policy and prevent the sharing of privileged information.

6. Detect and neutralize malware

There were 6.6 billion malware attacks in 2023 — 11% more than the year before. These attacks are dangerous because the malware files themselves look benign on the surface. The longer they sit undetected in your system, the more damage they can do. IBM’s report indicates that breaches lasting over 200 days cost 26.5% more than those detected before the 200-day mark.

A CASB can serve as anti-malware throughout your cloud environment. It can automatically scan the files you’re already storing, plus any new ones as they’re uploaded. Whenever it fines a malicious file, it can quarantine it and raise a flag for your IT team to review it later. Most CASBs also maintain an ever-growing list of known malware. If it spots a user trying to upload files from the list, it can shut them down.

7. Record audit trails in the cloud

Compliance regulations such as SOC 2 and PCI DSS often require audit trails, and with good reason. If something goes wrong in your system, you need to know how it happened. Audit trails make that forensic investigation much easier. You can then improve your defenses and policies to make sure you don’t make the same mistake twice.

With a CASB, you can maintain your audit trails even in cloud apps. It can track sign-ins, downloads, uploads, and lateral movements to give you a full picture of events. That will come in handy in the event of a compliance audit.

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Learn how data-driven defense keeps your organization safe

As your organization grows, sensitive information becomes harder to track and secure. Cloud apps are just the tip of the iceberg. Lookout addresses that challenge with a data-centric SSE solution including cutting-edge CASB. See it for yourself by joining a free Lookout SSE Hands-on Lab.

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