eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
Skyfence, a provider of tools for automating visibility and control over cloud apps, has announced a free version of its Skyfence Cloud Discovery technology that enables users to instantly assess authorized and unauthorized cloud app usage.
Skyfence provides users with an inventory of all Software as a Service (SaaS) applications and services along with risk information that enables IT staff to determine which apps need to be managed, blocked or actively monitored to mitigate security threats. This offering is available via download and combines a knowledge base and online community to ensure customer success.
Typically, cloud apps for sales, marketing, finance, IT, human resources and engineering functions are easy for employees to adopt, but difficult for IT to discover and monitor. Skyfence Cloud Discovery Free enables organizations to gain visibility and control over the adoption of cloud apps, so they can manage their safe and productive use. And Skyfence enables administrators and IT managers to run their own reports on premise.
“Discovery is the right way to begin addressing cloud app security blind spots,” said David Monahan, research director at IT and data management research and consulting firm Enterprise Management Associates (EMA), in a statement. “With this free tool, Skyfence enables any size organization to identify which cloud apps are being used, who is using them and what risks they pose. This visibility provides benchmark data needed to assess and manage cloud app usage, and their corresponding risks, within the organization.”
The Skyfence Cloud Discovery tool enables IT and security administrators to easily import existing log files from leading firewall, security information and event management (SIEM) and web proxy solutions to generate comprehensive cloud usage reports.
Moreover, Skyfence Cloud Discovery Free helps to identify and manage “Shadow IT” efforts by providing summarized and detailed views of all cloud apps, traffic volume, quantity of users and risk information associated with each app. To meet enterprise requirements for data privacy and security, the tool can be downloaded and run locally on any Windows or Mac system so log files containing company information and sensitive data never have to leave the network.
“Most companies recognize that cloud apps pose a potential security threat, but lack the tools to assess the depth and breadth of the problem,” said Ofer Hendler, CEO of Skyfence, in a statement. “While many vendors are charging high fees for visibility into SaaS apps, the Skyfence Cloud Discovery Free Tool makes it easy and affordable to quickly, securely and accurately discover cloud app usage and risks across an organization.”
The free license includes perpetual use of the tool with no limit on the number of reports that can be generated. Skyfence Cloud Discovery Free is part of the Skyfence Cloud Gateway family of products that includes Skyfence Cloud Discovery Enterprise, Skyfence Cloud Analytics and Skyfence Cloud Protection.