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Centrify announced it has formed technology integration partnerships with five cloud access security brokers (CASBs), including CloudLock, Elastica, Imperva, Netskope and Skyhigh Networks.
The combination of CASBs and Centrify’s Identity Service is designed to offer enterprises control over cloud applications by assuring that these applications are used for business purposes and are protected against data leakage.
“Businesses today are adopting a lot of cloud-based apps, which increases risk,” Bill Mann, chief product officer of Centrify, told eWEEK. “Hackers are now targeting cloud applications because employees have simple passwords and re-use passwords, and do not implement stronger authentication measures like multi-factor authentication. This is where Centrify and these CASB integrations come in.”
Mann explained Centrify focused on eliminating password reuse, and implementing stronger authentication and processes to add and remove employees from applications when they join, change roles or leave a business. This all helps to reduce the risk of hackers targeting a business, he said.
“The CASB vendors we are partnering with provide additional visibility into SaaS applications – so, if the application usage pattern of an employee is outside of the normal usage pattern, then the applications can restrict access,” he said.
Privileged users, like app administrators or line of business leaders get varying levels of access controls and privileges within each app based on role and step-up strong authentication with MFA policies.
“As businesses use cloud applications, the big challenge is how to maintain visibility and control,” Mann said. “The threat landscape is getting worse and as data moves to the cloud, the traditional perimeter-based security no longer helps businesses. Technologies from Centrify and these CASBs will enable businesses to use cloud applications with control and visibility.”
With Centrify’s Identity Platform integration for CASB Solutions, customers can now deploy and augment their security infrastructure for cloud applications to meet deeper compliance requirements like visibility of shadow IT apps, monitoring and auditing of user activity within apps, data leak prevention, governance, and threat protection.
“I see acceleration in businesses using cloud applications and cloud services. And as this happens, more controls will be governed by businesses,” Mann said. “Ultimately, businesses own their data, so cloud security will need to give them this control. Centrify is in the center of this change because we help businesses access multiple applications with a consistent policy for access, and the CASBs help in this change because they help businesses consistently have visibility inside the applications.”