Cloud-Based Applications For Everything

Cloud is gaining momentum in terms of popularity and adoption, however, it also increased several risks. Forcepoint is trying to solve the security concerns as well as offer the best cloud experience fighting with numerous industry challenges. While talking to PCQuest, Ajay Dubey, National Manager - Partners & Alliances, Forcepoint shared his experience and plans.

What sort of new challenges are you facing due to growing demand for cloud services?

Ajay Dubey, National Manager - Partners & Alliances, Forcepoint

Traditionally, enterprises had better control of the data when data centers were on premise as they could keep the data under check. Now, as organizations move an increasing proportion of IT capability out of their own data centers and into cloud services, the challenge of security is ever present.

In a mobile-cloud world key challenge for security, teams have been to secure mobile devices particularly

The unmanaged - bring-your own devices (BYOD) accessing cloud applications (which may or may not be sanctioned by IT) that store critical corporate data outside the control of traditional on-premises security solutions.

Another challenge for security teams as businesses continue to adopt software-as-a- service (SaaS) at an unprecedented rate is how to protect against both intentional and unintentional data leakage stemming from users accessing cloud applications from a variety of devices, including their own personal ones?

As security is a prime concern, how are you protecting from several attacks?

The rise in mobile devices together with the growing use of cloud-based applications for everything from email to customer relationship management to financial reporting has given rise to a number of blind spots and security. Network perimeter defenses and endpoint protection can’t secure mobile workers given a combination of sanctioned and unsanctioned cloud applications and managed and unmanaged devices.

The key lies in focusing on the one common denominator across all the scenarios: the human. Visibility into user and entity behavior must become the focal point of organizations’ security efforts.

Forcepoint human-centric cloud security solution, commonly called – cloud access security broker (CASB) provides visibility into what users of both sanctioned and unsanctioned apps are doing in the cloud to understand risks and protect users and data. It identifies users at risk and prevents risky usage. It enables policies and protections that are specific to users accessing cloud apps on BYOD devices. It further delivers data loss prevention (DLP) to protect data at rest in the cloud and data in transit

How are you preparing for upcoming challenges of the digital world?

The increasing digitization is dramatically changing the enterprises functioning – it has allowed organizations to optimize performance, reduce capital expenditures and elastically allocate resources for computing, processing, and collaboration. However, the threat landscape too has expanded with increasing digitalization. Instead of protecting a perimeter that is fast dissolving, organizations need to look at a new way to approach security as they to allow employees access to critical data from anywhere and everywhere it resides.

The Forcepoint strategy is to look at people and protect against those behaviors we know lead to critical data and IP loss. This people-centric vision drives Forcepoint's strategy to create security solutions and programs capable of observing behavior and deciphering intent in order to proactively protect users, critical data and, most importantly, the point at which they intersect. Such systems include products that can be easily integrated to provide a comprehensive view of risky behavior and mitigate risks many steps before they turn into breaches.

How is Forcepoint securing the highly insecure BYOD kind of environment?

Forcepoint CASB provides enterprises visibility and control over usage of cloud applications to secure mobile users on both managed and unmanaged (BYOD) devices as they access sanctioned and unsanctioned cloud applications.

It provides:

• DEVICE CONTROL: Forcepoint distinguishes between managed or corporate-owned devices and unmanaged/ BYOD. It uses granular security policies to give employees the flexibility to use their preferred devices without compromising security.

• COMPREHENSIVE APPLICATION DISCOVERY: Forcepoint uncovers cloud application usage, including the use of unsanctioned and high-risk applications.

• ADVANCED UEBA: Forcepoint CASB observes user behaviors and detects anomalies to identify and minimize risk as users use cloud applications. Your organization gains additional insights into what users are doing with data to protect them from compromise as they use the web and email from any location, on any device.

• DATA LOSS PREVENTION: Forcepoint CASB provides state-of-the-art DLP capabilities for data at rest in the cloud and in motion, as well as integration with market-leading Forcepoint DLP via ICAP.

• ADVANCED MALWARE DETECTION: Forcepoint CASB integrates with Forcepoint Advanced Malware Detection, a high-performance malware analysis platform that provides deep content inspection and interacts with malware to entice it into execution to be blocked or alerted on.

Key suggestions for cloud users to help them be safe!

As enterprises and government agencies shift their applications to SaaS and cloud IT models, they require intelligent systems that quickly spot anomalies, assess risk and facilitate a rapid resolution to protect users and their data in an increasingly zero perimeter world.

Approaching security through a human-centric lens will help organizations to better understand indicators of normal cyber behavior and quickly identify anomalous behaviors and the impact of the risk.