“You must unlearn what you have learned.” -Yoda
RSA is one of the more enlightening and overwhelming security events that we participate in annually. There is an air of maturity in the industry. Increased attention and size over the last year has imparted a sense of responsibility along with a humble appreciation that no single product is a silver bullet.
Passing booths, attendees became aware of the tens of thousands of threat vectors their businesses face. For every threat, there are probably a dozen different ways to address it and two dozen vendors trying to pitch it. Instead of giving into hopelessness that security is impossible, the RSA crowd wants to go beyond the FUD. Vendors did a great job of making IT security interesting and welcoming for a broad audience.
The hard part for attendees is prioritizing security goals and customizing a mix of the best approaches. Feeling overwhelmed? No need to fret. There are apps for dealing with the analysis paralysis too. Tools that leverage machine learning can provide predictive modeling and penetration testing to make the task of prioritizing solutions less daunting. But some barriers to widespread cloud security adoption remain.
Making security less daunting
In our growing sliver of the security industry, CASBs are notoriously cumbersome for businesses to purchase, integrate and maintain. Without even delving into the details of why they are such a pain in the neck, let’s just look at the scoreboard: most small and midsize businesses don’t even bother looking into cloud security. Paralysis is the norm, so security gaps due to lack of visibility into cloud apps remains a big black hole. Our segment hasn’t fully matured.
Through deep integrations with apps and traditional network security vendors, we help bring cloud security to the masses. But proprietary ecosystems, confined within the box of perimeter security solutions, are still the norm. We were glad to see our approach of going to the users in any product environment gaining steam, but deep API integrations between security applications and cloud apps are still the exception to the rule. Cloud security needs to be easier and more user-friendly. Security needs to integrate seamlessly everywhere users go, otherwise widespread adoption won’t be possible.
Unlearn the old way of thinking
Outside of RSA, overselling security capabilities is still an issue because users don’t realize that in many cases deep API integration is mandatory. A security solution that’s pitched as providing all the protection necessary yet lacks cloud activity falls short of a user’s expectations. Our cloud security solution, Cloud Access Monitor, was created with modern businesses in mind. Before our clients make any commitments, we ask them if they’d like to try it for free, so they can see what’s going on and what we can do about it before they make a decision. When they learn how much of their business data isn’t protected by existing IT security solutions, they are understandably a bit disappointed. Want security for any number of product or services outside of the ecosystem you bought into? Good luck. Even outsiders noticed the disparity between IT and OT solutions at RSA.
Users demand easy. Cloud services have grown have grown exponentially due to providers understanding the need to deliver on that crucial demand. Historically speaking, every consumer platform available that started off as a proprietary, walled-garden shed their boundaries, and can now integrate with competitor’s products. For business IT security, the technology has progressed tremendously, but the interoperability and usability between security solutions and cloud apps are still in their infancy.
They say the best way to predict the future is by building it yourself. We think it’s better for businesses to be able to customize their IT security mix as they please while retaining ease of use. Cloud Access Monitor delivers a security solution that businesses demand, but the verdict is still out on whether the rest of the security industry will deliver.
See how Cloud Access Monitor allows you to customize your IT security mix: Watch this brief video and then request your free trial.
