Palo Alto Networks Strengthens SaaS Protection

With hybrid working established as the norm for post-pandemic workers and large amounts of sensitive data now stored in SaaS applications, the risk of SaaS misconfiguration poses a serious security threat to businesses. According to Statista, as of 2021 the average company has more than 110 SaaS applications (apps) that need to be protected. Misconfigurations in SaaS apps are a common problem. To address this, Palo Alto Networks has announced new innovations in Prisma SASE that enable customers to identify and remediate configuration errors in SaaS apps using SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) capabilities.

“SaaS applications have given organizations the freedom to let their workers work from wherever they are most productive. However, the vast amount of sensitive data that is created, stored, and shared through SaaS applications exposes a serious data breach risk due to SaaS misconfiguration. Simply put, the world needs a SASE solution that can manage the configuration and security of SaaS applications.” points out Anand Oswal, Senior Vice President of Network Security at Palo Alto Networks. “With today’s Prisma SASE updates, we’re significantly strengthening the security posture of SaaS applications through the Palo Alto Networks Next-Gen CASB, which enables customers to easily view and configure security settings for multiple SaaS applications on the go. One place”.

Palo Alto Networks has announced new innovations in Prisma SASE that enable customers to identify and remediate configuration errors in SaaS apps.

In addition to SSPM, the company has announced new ZTNA 2.0 security inspection capabilities, including ML-powered Advanced URL Filtering and Advanced Threat Prevention, as well as the world’s first artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps) solution. natively integrated into SASE, simplifying network and security operations for customers.

The product announcements are as follows:

• SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM): Powered by Palo Alto Networks Next-Gen CASB, SaaS security management capabilities go beyond CIS and NIST compliance checks to end-to-end security, allowing customers to configure security settings for multiple SaaS applications in one location. In an effort to reduce time to repair, SSPM can help fix misconfigurations with a single click and help prevent configuration drift by enabling users to lock critical security settings in place.
• Advanced URL Filtering: prevent new highly deceptive phishing attacks, ransomware and other web attacks by using the deep learning online, instead of a URL database – preventing 40% of threats and detecting 76% of malicious URLs even a day earlier than traditional web filtering solutions.
• Advanced Threat Prevention: provides the only intrusion prevention system (IPS) solution that stops unknown command-and-control (C2) attacks in real time—48% more than other IPS solutions. New features take security analysis from “offline” to “inline” using machine learning techniques, improving detection rates for zero-day threats without sacrificing performance.
• AIOps for SASE: Palo Alto Networks has natively integrated AIOps into its secure access service to significantly reduce manual operations and facilitate faster troubleshooting. AIOps for SASE provides automated root cause analysis, rapid problem remediation, and guided adoption of best practices. Predictive analytics enable more efficient capacity planning and threat detection, preventing business disruptions. A simple query-based interface enables IT helpdesk to automatically troubleshoot and analyze changes.

In addition to these software enhancements, Palo Alto Networks is introducing new hardware appliances, the ION 1200-S and ION 3200, to help SMBs modernize their branch offices. These new devices include a fully integrated switch and Power over Ethernet (PoE) ports to connect and power endpoints within the local area network. Additionally, integrated WAN capabilities such as 5G and LTE on the ION 1200-S and fiber ports on the ION 3200 allow customers to improve WAN speed, performance and availability. The ION 1200-S and ION 3200 can help significantly reduce operational complexity by eliminating multiple products while providing power redundancy with an integrated dual power supply that ensures network uptime and constant connectivity. .