Building on a sixth-generation machine learning platform, OpenText has released BrightCloud Cloud Service Intelligence. This is said to enable cloud access security brokers (CASB) and other security and technology vendors to enforce data-centric security policies, and prevent unwanted interactions with cloud services and associated applications.

“The risks in securing cloud applications are fairly straightforward; if IT doesn’t know about an unsanctioned application or service, they can’t adequately protect it or the data it accesses and stores,” states OpenText chief product officer Muhi Majzoub. “Modern user practices, tools and remote work are demanding a new era of real-time visibility – which is why real-time threat intelligence is built into this new cloud-specific solution, utilising over 10 years of innovation at the forefront of AI and ML.”

Through a suite of three components – Cloud Application Classification, Cloud Application Function, and Cloud Application Reputation – partners can use BrightCloud Cloud Service Intelligence to identify, classify, and block/allow access based on the application’s classification, functions and reputation score.

The new service is said to provide additional intelligence data on which cloud applications pose security or compliance risks, as well as identifies user actions within these applications, allowing partners to better address risks, as well as identify and stop shadow IT behaviour, in order to better control data. BrightCloud Cloud Service Intelligence can also be tailored to help CASBs and other providers enhance services by helping customers comply with regulations and decrease security risks by setting up and enforcing policies pertaining to usage of cloud applications.

“By leveraging a reputation score, organisations can choose the level of application reputation risk appropriate for their needs,” states OpenText. “Other factors that contribute to reputation, such as application and data security, as well as organisation overview, may also be used to enforce acceptable risk/use policies. Also, the score incorporates the BrightCloud Domain Safety Score, a patent-pending technology that assesses the cybersecurity risk to users and networks from visiting a specific domain, whether encrypted through HTTPS or not.