New Security Tool Provides Cloud SaaS Visibility

A chief complaint from financial services executives when it comes to adopting cloud-based applications, is a lack of visibility of data and tracking of usage while in the cloud. To address these concerns, Fidelis Security Systems has released its Cloud Security Solution, which allows enterprises to ensure that only authorized services and service providers are being used, only authorized information is being transferred to or through these providers and that users aren't downloading malicious content that might be the basis for an attack on the enterprise network itself.

"Securing the cloud is difficult," said Hardik Modi, senior product manager at Fidelis Security Systems, in an interview. "The impact of cloud security is a lot more subtle. What you see on your cloud network is not the same as what a security engineer is accustomed to seeing on an internal network."

For instance, visibility is sometimes lost when applications are moved to external providers of services such as email, collaboration tools, CRM and storage. The Cloud Security Solution provides visibility and control to decrease risks associated with using Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), according to Fidelis. The solution is deployed at the enterprise network edge where traffic between the enterprise and SaaS provider can be monitored.

"It's easy for people within an organization to adopt SaaS applications on their own initiative without consulting security personnel," said Modi, in the press release. "Applications with roots in the consumer market end up being adopted for business purposes and organizations don't have control over the kind of information hosted there. Many SaaS providers have suffered public security breaches that expose them and their customers to the loss of sensitive business information. We are addressing this concern with our new Fidelis XPS Cloud Security Solution."

Financial firms have already created private clouds within their own firewalls and are looking to take advantage of some cloud-based offerings from third parties. However, compliance, security and regulatory concerns still stand as a real and formidable obstacle for the financial services community. Transitioning to the cloud introduces new protocols that are difficult to inspect. Additionally, network security devices cannot inspect the contents of encrypted traffic between end-users and application providers. New risks arise with the increased use of cloud services open the door to sensitive information being transferred to outside organizations, according to Fidelis. Greg MacSweeney is editorial director of InformationWeek Financial Services, whose brands include Wall Street & Technology, Bank Systems & Technology, Advanced Trading, and Insurance & Technology. View Full Bio