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Cloud Security Gateways, A Step Beyond Firewalls 

Cloud Security Gateways, or CSG’s, are also known as cloud access security brokers (CASB). CSG’s provide persistent connections between on-premises networks and cloud services. The gateway service then allows connections to specific resources in the on-premises network. This quick, simple, and secure method of connectivity bridges environments at an improved granular level instead of the network level. They act as a policy enforcement point between an enterprise and the cloud applications that employees use. CSG’s have become valuable to IT security by providing management teams the needed visibility into cloud service usage and security that is aligned with the controls already in place for protection of data in on-premise applications such as data loss prevention, behavior analytics, and access controls.

Benefits of a Cloud Security Gateway

With the exponential growth of cloud computing environments, companies are learning that simply blocking cloud services from being used isn’t enough. Cloud Security Gateways provide a level of security that fFirewalls’s are unable to achieve. CSG’s look beyond the firewall method of protection, which simply determines whether or not a connection is valid. The primary benefit of a CSG is that the gateway service also looks at the behavior of the user and what their activity. For example, when an organization blocks a cloud service from employees, employees often find work-arounds by searching for lesser-known, possibly riskier services, thus increasing the problem. Unlike a firewall, a CSG has the ability to track, report or prevent these security challenges.

  1. Visibility Into All Cloud Services

CSG’s provide visibility into both sanctioned and unsanctioned cloud use, and the data retention and encryption policies of both. Security professionals are finding that CSG’s are a simple way to address their primary cloud security challenges, and are trusting CSG providers as true strategic partners. CSG’s behavior tools, cloud malware detection, and data loss prevention top the list of key adoption criteria.

  1. DLP Compliance

On-premises data loss prevention (DLP) processes ensure security from data leaks, or breaches of external regulations. CSG’s play the same role as the on-premise DLP by extending these protocols to the cloud. Cloud DLP activities can provide consistent protection for a wide range of sensitive and regulated data such as payment card data, protected health information, and intellectual property information.

  1. Secure Data

With growing remote work forces and employees using unmanaged devices, existing security technologies are being circumvented each time enterprise data gets transferred to the cloud. CSG’s can bring end-to-end data encryption for data being uploaded to the cloud or already housed within a cloud service. Gateway services also enable companies to control the encryption keys used to protect cloud data and integrate with KMIP-compliant key management solutions.

Cloud Security Gateways offer a higher level of security than traditional firewalls and can be quickly set up to connect your environments, manage the mapping between on-premises and remote destinations, and monitor sanctioned and unsanctioned traffic. For more information about Cloud Security Gateways speak to the professionals at iT1 and learn how managed CSG services can enhance the connectivity and security of your computing environment.

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