How often do your employees or coworkers work from home? How about from Starbucks? Hotels? Airports? What devices are they using? Are they only checking email while on their phone, or are they working on sensitive documents as well? Do they happen to use personal tablets, laptops, or desktops?
As I sit here writing this blog post for work from my own home computer, it’s clear why cloud access security brokers (CASBs), capable of securing any device, have taken enterprise security by storm. The traditional method for securing corporate data was to issue a managed device (typically a laptop) and force users to connect to a VPN when outside the corporate network. In theory this works fine, but today, employee-owned devices and a desire for mobility has made traditional security obsolete.
Employees are working away from the office more and more, and since VPN connections are often unstable and suffer latency issues, users in many organizations actively look for ways to work without connecting to the corporate network. Often the problem is their corporate-owned device, pushing employees to start using a faster and more capable personal device. Often employees turn to unsanctioned cloud applications to collaborate more efficiently with coworkers and clients. Once IT leaders accept the fact that employees can and will use whatever is the most efficient system, the case for a new cloud-based security solution becomes all the more apparent.
Security must evolve to ensure data protection outside of the firewall. This is where CASBs like Bitglass fit in. Rather than managing devices like traditional tools, the Bitglass approach protects data end-to-end, from cloud application to any device. Bitglass is the only CASB that can can provide real-time in-line protection on any device, anywhere. By securing corporate data at access, employees are free to use any device they wish. For IT, such a solution enables secure and compliant access across managed and unmanaged devices.
Bitglass is unique in that it eliminates obstacles that keep employees from getting work done. So how does Bitglass accomplish this evolution of security? Look out for part two, which discusses the technology behind the CASB.
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