SASE provider Cato Networks has expanded the security side of its SASE platform by adding Cato CASB.

Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) "control access to cloud applications by managing security-policy enforcement requirements," explains Scott Raynovich, founder and principal analyst for Futuriom in the 2021 Cloud Secure Edge and SASE Trend Report. "They can manage single sign-on, authentication and authorization, device profiling, encryption and audit and logging. CASBs can also support DLP and antimalware capabilities."

Raynovich adds that CASB can help identify cloud-based Shadow IT and account takeovers. He predicts that the CASB market will eventually be absorbed within the SASE market: "The CASB functionality is being rapidly subsumed by SASE vendors and is likely to go away as a standalone market in the future."

The new Cloud Access Security Broker feature by Cato can be switched on immediately in the Cato customer portal for an added cost, says Boaz Avigad, director of product marketing for Cato Networks.

Protection for cloud applications – run in data centers and public clouds – is increasingly critical as workers connect to business applications from anywhere, says Avigad. As part of the Cato SASE Cloud, Cato CASB is available globally via more than 70 PoPs for sites or users accessing cloud applications.

A converged service

While CASB itself isn't a new concept, "what's new about what we're doing is making CASB a converged service within SASE," says Avigad. " ... We already have a lot of security services running and CASB adds to that."

In addition to Cato, Citrix, Forcepoint, Netskope, Palo Alto Networks, Versa Networks, Zscaler and VMware are among SASE providers that deliver their own CASB services or integrate with CASB vendors, according to Futuriom.

Cato says that the new addition of CASB improves visibility, assessment, enforcement and protection across cloud applications. A new Shadow IT dashboard shows SaaS usage, total and high-risk applications, number of users accessing those apps and more.

Cato's Application Credibility Engine (ACE) also automates data collection to assist IT teams in assessing security risks from application usage. Once any unauthorized application on the network is identified, the team can use Cato CASB to apply rules in response and generate alerts if needed. SaaS traffic is also processed by additional security tools such as firewalls, secure web gateways, intrusion prevention systems and antimalware.

In October 2021, Cato announced its largest funding round to date of $200 million, bringing total financing to $532 million. In addition, the company grew 50% last year to over 400 employees.

Cato has also been steadily making inroads with service providers that are partnering with Cato to deliver its SASE platforms to enterprise customers as a managed service. The company recently partnered with Horizon Telecom to expand SASE services in Europe; KDDI to target North, Central and South America; and Expereo, which provides last-mile access in more than 190 countries.

— Kelsey Kusterer Ziser, Senior Editor, Light Reading

(Featured image source: Aleksei Gorodenkov/Alamy Stock Photo.)