A Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) implements encryption and tokenization to protect data by securing it both in transit and at rest, ensuring sensitive information remains confidential and compliant with regulations.
Encryption: CASBs encrypt data before it leaves the user's device or application, making it unreadable to unauthorized parties during transmission or storage. This ensures that even if data is intercepted or accessed without permission, it cannot be decrypted without the proper keys. For example, a CASB can enforce encryption for files uploaded to cloud storage platforms like Tencent Cloud COS (Cloud Object Storage), ensuring that only authorized users with the decryption keys can access the content.
Tokenization: CASBs replace sensitive data (e.g., credit card numbers, personally identifiable information) with randomly generated tokens. These tokens have no intrinsic value and cannot be reverse-engineered to reveal the original data. The actual data is stored securely in a tokenization vault, often managed by the CASB or an integrated service. For instance, when a user enters payment details into a cloud-based application, the CASB can tokenize the data before it reaches the cloud, reducing the risk of exposure. Tencent Cloud's Key Management Service (KMS) can be used to manage encryption keys and tokenization securely.
By combining encryption and tokenization, CASBs provide a layered defense, ensuring data remains protected across various cloud environments and use cases.