Cato Networks, provider of the world’s first SASE platform, introduced risk-based application access control for combatting the threat of infiltration posed by remote workers and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD).
Enterprise policies can now consider real-time device context when restricting access to capabilities within corporate applications, as well as Internet and cloud resources.
With the evolving threat landscape, user identity alone is no longer sufficient for ZTNA or BYOD risk assessment. Identities can be spoofed while personal devices may not conform to enterprise security standards. What’s needed is an enforcement solution with the contextual awareness to balance user productivity with risk mitigation.
To address that challenge, Cato is embedding continuous device context assessment throughout the Cato Single Pass Cloud Engine (SPACE), Cato’s converged, cloud-native software stack. Cato SPACE will continuously assess the posture of a user’s device, taking action when the device falls out of compliance. In addition to device context, Cato SPACE already considers identity, network, data, and many other attributes.
By exposing context attributes through Cato SPACE, they become available across all current and future Cato capabilities to enable granular control over user application access. For example,
When working from a personal device (BYOD) remotely, a user could be given permissions to upload to the collaboration platform but not download data. No other resources may be available.However, when working from a corporate device, the same user could also be given download permissions. Read-only access to financial systems, ERP, and CRM systems could be granted.When working from a corporate device with current antimalware, a user could be given read and write access to the collaboration platform, financial systems, and file shares.Finally, access to all resources may be blocked when users appear to be working from any device in an unusual geolocation, such as a war zone.
Device context attributes include antimalware type as well as the presence of a client-side firewall, full disk encryption, patch levels, and more. Information is gathered by the industry-leading OPSWAT OESIS framework as part of the Cato Client.
The Performance and Security Problems of ZTNA
ZTNA addresses a critical need for secure remote access, but failure to address security and productivity challenges undermines the utility of ZTNA and SSE point solutions.
By contrast, the Cato SASE Platform inspects all WAN and Internet traffic to all users for advanced threats. Signature-based antimalware stops known attacks; NGAM leverages machine learning and artificial intelligence to identify and block unknown malware. Cato’s managed IPS service taps machine learning algorithms and Cato’s SOC team to protect against network-based threats.
Eyal Webber-Zvik, VP of product marketing at Cato Networks
User devices can be notoriously unprotected, opening a backdoor into enterprise networks. Today’s announcement allows IT to deliver just the right degree of application access to minimize the risk of breach without compromising user productivity.
Hamid Karimi, VP of technology alliances and OEM at OPSWAT
By utilizing the OESIS Framework to access endpoint metadata, Cato’s converged, cloud-native SASE platform enables enterprise IT teams to establish granular policies that reduce the attack surface.
