How Is A CASB Solution Different From The Web Proxy Firewall?

The network security capabilities can be enhanced when CASB is integrated with any existing network security solution.

Many companies and IT teams are looking around for solutions to ascertain data security. But when they search for the solution, they bring in a couple of misconceptions with them related to Cloud Access Security Brokers and also the implementation of CASB solutions. Common questions asked from the CASB vendors include, “Why do we need a CASB solution when we already have a web proxy firewall protection?” or “Are both of them the same thing?” There are significant differences between CASB and network securities like firewalls already present in the companies. Majorly, the network security capabilities are greatly enhanced when CASB solutions are integrated with existing solutions for network security. This integration helps in ensuring better visibility into cloud services and makes sure of proper compliance and also that government policies are maintained.

CASB vs Web Proxy Firewalls

Proxies and Firewalls are not the same as CASB. CASB is entirely separate and a totally different concept. The only similarity between them is that CASB can be implemented in forward and reverse proxy mode. Most network security solutions focus on incoming threats and filters potentially harmful and illegal websites, but CASB is mainly focused on deep visibility into granular controls for cloud computing. It can also be employed in API mode to scan and enforce policies for data that are at rest which is one of the peculiar features of CASB. Even without integrating to a CASB, web proxies and firewalls offer some broad protection to network threats along with protection to cloud data.

Advantages Of Integrating CASB With Proxies And Firewalls

CASB can use the existing cloud infrastructure and act as a complementary to firewalls and proxies. CASB enhances the value of cloud network and infrastructure. CASB also gains visibility into the cloud usage.

3 CASB Integration Methods With Network Security Solutions

Collection Of Log Files: Proxies and firewalls can capture data regarding cloud usage over the network but cannot differentiate internet usage and cloud usage, which is one of the main drawbacks. CASB can show what users are using currently by ingesting log files from network solutions. CASB can also manipulate the volumes of data uploaded or downloaded from the cloud and categorize the cloud service based on the risk it poses. CASB also lets us know whether enforcement gaps are present in the infrastructure and close them with up to date cloud service URLs. CASB can gather user actions from cloud service using logs, detect malware and botnets using machine learning, In short, CASB helps the system be cloud-ready.

Deploy Packet Capture Mode: In the packet capture deployment mode, to gain visibility into the data, CASB intakes a part of traffic from the existing network solutions. When CASB is integrated with a web proxy, Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is evaluated. After the integration, they are configured to copy and forward the cloud traffic to CASB, which helps in DLP evaluation. To improve the performance of these types of applications, custom content disposition headers are being used. But these custom headers can prevent content inspection for DLP by security solutions. CASB can inspect cloud traffic, evaluate DLP policies, leverage detailed cloud signatures as well as generate alerts for DLP policy violations.

The Solution On Proxy Chaining: Many organizations are not keen on the change and hence they would not want an alternative for their web proxy. CASB can be implemented for the forward proxy. When CASB is in a proxy chaining mode, downstream web proxy routes all the cloud traffic through CASB. This helps CASB to enforce access control policy; thereby, limiting the cloud service functionality. CASB can also display alerts if a user tries to access something outside the policy. CASB also can direct users to some approved cloud services and the access can be justified. CASB enforces inline policies and checks policy violations in proxy chaining mode as this cannot be done in packet capture mode.

In a nutshell, we can say that majorly, the existing network security capabilities can be greatly enhanced and bettered when CASB tools are well integrated with the existing network security tools. This advantageous integration always helps in ensuring better cloud visibility and also ensures complete compliance and security.