The three new initiatives include:
- Extending Skyhigh Cloud Security Labs (CSL) to include Cloud Threat Intelligence
- Introducing the industry’s first Cloud Security Reference Architecture
- The launch of Skyhigh’s extensive Cloud Security Technology Partner Programme
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In the face of an evolving cloud threat landscape, the joint announcement signals Skyhigh Network’s intent to provide greater value for its customers, strengthen cloud security deployments, and share its expertise with the industry. Skyhigh Security Labs Led by Skyhigh co-founder and chief scientist, Sekhar Sarukkai, CSL’s charter is to advance the industry’s ability to leverage the latest research and innovation to combat new threats and accelerate cloud adoption. CSL analyses activity across Skyhigh’s global user base, which currently stands at 23 million cloud users, to discover patterns of usage that compromise the security of corporate data. The addition of Cloud Threat Intelligence to the existing Cloud Service Intelligence and Cryptography Research divisions will drive even greater insight into the changing nature of cloud threats.
Skyhigh CSL currently works with five leading cryptography academics from University of London, Cornell Tech, Georgia Tech, and University of California. To date, CSL has pioneered an innovative approach to behavioural botnet detection, created robust behavioural models to fingerprint cloud service and also audits over 17,000 cloud services when a major vulnerability, such as Heartbleed, VENOM, FREAK, POODLE, or BASH, is exposed. All of which helps Skyhigh detect abnormal activity with a high-degree of accuracy and proactively alerts customers to activities requiring attention.
Cloud Security Reference Architecture Skyhigh’s Cloud Security Reference Architecture provides a detailed blueprint that helps IT and security teams accelerate the deployment of cloud security solutions; enabling them to embrace cloud services while meeting their security, compliance and governance requirements. The tool codifies best practice using data collected from cloud security deployments at more than 500 enterprises over the last three years. Using this information, businesses are able to complete the puzzle of technology integration and address the gaps in security created through the rapid adoption of cloud services and mobile usage. The Architecture provides specific guidance on how a CASB is best deployed, the pros and cons of the different approaches, and best practices on integrating with their cloud service providers (CSPs) and existing security and infrastructure solutions.
Cloud Security Technology Partner Programme Skyhigh Networks has formalised partnerships with more than 50 leading vendors to ensure customers are provided the most advanced cloud security solutions on the market. The new programme enables users to seamlessly integrate Skyhigh’s CASB with their current and planned deployments, thereby ensuring comprehensive and integrated security environments. Partnerships have been agreed across the following categories: cloud and on-premises proxies, user behaviour analytics (UBA), threat protection, identity as a service (IDaaS), identity and access management (IAM), data loss prevention (DLP), security information and event management (SIEM), mobile device management (MDM), key management and digital rights management (DRM).
According to the Gartner Market Guide for Cloud Access Security Brokers by Craig Lawson, Neil MacDonald and Brian Lowans, published in October 2015, “By 2020, 85 percent of large enterprises will use a cloud access security broker product for their cloud services, which is up from fewer than five percent today.” The report goes on to say that companies should “favour CASB providers that maintain their own proactive cloud threat research laboratories, actively research vulnerabilities and attacks on cloud service providers, and can use this intelligence to protect their CASB customers by recommending policy changes.”
“The average European enterprise now uses 1,038 cloud services and, as the first CASB player in the market, these initiatives accelerate our quest to help organisations securely adopt applications,” said Rajiv Gupta, CEO of Skyhigh Networks. “With the number of available services ever-growing, the extension to the CSL as well as the new architecture and partner programme will help enterprises to cut through the noise; enabling them to leverage the power of cloud applications with the most advanced security technologies in place.”
