Verified User

Contributor in Information Technology (5001-10,000 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

In my organization we use Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps as a CASB and also to investigate security events. As a CASB we use it primarily to detect Shadow IT, over permissive applications, risky application and blocked content from being downloaded onto non-managed corporate devices. The integration to Microsoft Entra ID is seamless which allows Conditional Access to redirect session to Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps for it to take actions (Block or Monitor).

Pros

The integration to Microsoft Entra ID is seamless, which allows Conditional Access to redirect the session to Microsoft Defender for Cloud App for it to take actions (Block or Monitor).
Tracker users' activity is very good when troubleshooting or running an investigate.
Detecting risky users through tight integration with Microsoft Entra ID is a very good feature.
Detecting mass downloads and blocking the download of files from non-manage company devices is a very good feature as well.

Cons

Sometimes the activity data takes a while to be presented in the portal. Updating this data fasting would add immensely to the performance of this tool.
Ingesting logs from some firewalls do not work particularly well.
I don't like that when you implement blocking or monitoring of websites the message is not very customizable.

Return on Investment

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps has had a positive impact on your overall business objectives in the area of security. With the investment in Microsoft E5 licenses it comes as a part of the package. No additional investment for a separate tool and reduces risk which is one of our key business objectives.

Usability

Alternatives Considered

Netskope CASB

Other Software Used

Netskope CASB, CrowdStrike Falcon

Verified User

Director in Information Technology (51-200 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We utilize Microsoft Defender for Cloud apps for several functions including web filtering, SaaS app management and control, and Data Loss Prevention. The cloud inventory works well and provides a simple interface with all of the discovered SaaS apps accessed by the organization. By utilizing the sanctioned and unsanctioned tags, we are able to control the SaaS apps by blocking outright or allowing with controls and monitoring. For DLP, we utilize the alerting to report on suspicious or unusual file transfers.

Pros

SaaS application discovery
Detection alerts
Integration with other Microsoft Defender products to enhance the capabilities.

Cons

Integrate better with Purview for DLP rules
Onboard more supported applications with fine grained controls.
Provide more reporting aside from shadow it report

Return on Investment

Included in the E5 license making total cost of ownership lower compared with competitors and providing greater value for the organization.

Usability

Alternatives Considered

Zscaler Internet Access, Zscaler Private Access and Netskope CASB

Other Software Used

Zscaler Internet Access, Zscaler Private Access, Jamf Connect, Jamf Protect, Jamf Pro, Infosec IQ, Tenable Lumin, Tenable Vulnerability Management, BindPlane, Google Security Operations, Microsoft Sentinel

Sneha Sharma View profile

Assistant System Engineer in Information Technology at Tata Consultancy Services (10,001+ employees employees)

Pros

Security and Auto check for integrations
Detail distinguish according to severity of threats
Work well with Microsoft tools and Azure
filters are also good

Cons

Not smooth working with other cloud service provider like aws
sometimes not updated with latest threat or very late threat detection.
Can be more UI side attractive
Not a cheap price
slow with real time data

Most Important Features

Detail threat detection report
Inspection on a periodic basis
Integration with Azure

Return on Investment

it has a positive impact
less spend on security for clients
easy apply and less efforts

Alternatives Considered

McAfee MVISION Cloud (formerly Skyhigh CASB)

Other Software Used

McAfee MVISION Cloud (formerly Skyhigh CASB), Oracle CASB Cloud Service (formerly Palerra), Jellyfish Dynamix

Sai karthik Satyavarapu View profile

Senior Technical Specialist in Information Technology at HCL Software (5001-10,000 employees employees)

Pros

Detect threats based on user activity logs.
Set manual and automatic alert remediation.
Implement activity policies.
Detect threats based on user activity logs.

Cons

It takes some time to scan and apply the policies when there is some sensitive information.
After it applies the policies, it works, but there is a delay.
It doesn't provide any way to scan Microsoft Teams when an external exchange of images is happening. You can always do the filtering on the documents during the chat, but if there is an image, then some kind of OCR capability is required to detect it. At present, there is no way [Microsoft Cloud App Security] can go and detect those kinds of images and alert us

Most Important Features

There are certain regulatory requirements in our bank for personal data and confidential information that need to be monitored from a security standpoint. It is a regulatory and standard requirement to have such a solution in place.
From a security monitoring perspective, there is a productivity improvement and fewer human errors.
In terms of user experience, if users mistakenly put PI information or some kind of data, it can detect and alert them. From that aspect, it is doing the job, but we are using it from a security standpoint. I'm more from a regulatory environment, and there are security requirements that are enforced by regulators

Return on Investment

It has good features which helps our organization to quickly fix challenges.
It depends on the requirements. Certain requirements are really complex.
The deployment itself is quite fast because [Microsoft Cloud App Security] is on the cloud, but there are a lot of requirements from the regulations and the bank's standards perspective.

Alternatives Considered

AWS Certificate Manager and McAfee Cloud Workload Security

Other Software Used

AWS Security Hub, AWS WAF, McAfee Cloud Workload Security

Daisy Cooper View profile

Restaurant Manager in Finance and Accounting at Hilton (10,001+ employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

The entire organization depends on Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps to protect all our Cloud Apps that we normally use and helps to identify those Apps our employees are using which are risky and does not comply to our organizational needs, in order to keep our organizations Cloud assets secure from external attacks and shield us from internal accidents with excellent reporting capabilities.

Pros

Helps to discover and manage shadow IT.
Suspicious activity identification.
Perfect protections to sensitive Cloud information.

Cons

In the event of Cloud traffic it is not easy to monitor and identify attacks.
Difficult to protect unmatched Cloud devices.

Most Important Features

Secure protection to sensitive Cloud data.
Suspicious activity monitoring.
Easy management to compliance threats.

Return on Investment

Up-to--date information about every Cloud compliance requirement.
DLP alerts and activity from suspicious IP address.
Block downloads to avoid data leaks.

Alternatives Considered

Google Cloud Storage, Salesforce Service Cloud and AWS CloudTrail

Other Software Used

IBM Cloudant, SAP on IBM Cloud

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

What is Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps?

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Use Cases and Deployment Scope

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Return on Investment

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Alternatives Considered

Other Software Used

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Pros

Cons

Return on Investment

Usability

Alternatives Considered

Other Software Used

Pros

Cons

Most Important Features

Return on Investment

Alternatives Considered

Other Software Used

Pros

Cons

Most Important Features

Return on Investment

Alternatives Considered

Other Software Used

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Pros

Cons

Most Important Features

Return on Investment

Alternatives Considered

Other Software Used

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