Category: Announcement

Security & compliance for Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business and Webex Teams

Security and compliance are still some of the biggest concerns that today’s companies face when it comes to implementing new tools into their technology stack. For businesses to be truly compliant, they need more than just a strategy for protecting their calls and cloud data, they also need a way to keep collaborative messages secure.

Leading provider of security and compliance solutions for the Unified Communications and Collaboration marketplace, AGAT Software, recently announced the arrival of its first-to-market solution for anti-virus, anti-phishing and threat protection for Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business and Cisco Webex Teams and soon, Slack. Developed from the SphereShield award-winning flagship product from AGAT, the solution offers real-time scanning of content before it reaches the device of an end-user. The AGAT solution handles everything from authentication and identity to data protection and content inspection.

I caught up with the CEO of AGAT Software, Yoav Crombie, to learn more about the security solution.

What Do Today’s Collaboration Tools Have Security-Wise?

I was keen to find out whether solutions like Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business, and Cisco Webex Teams already have anything in place to protect today’s users. Crombie told me that the options are pretty limited. Skype for Business On Premises has nothing to offer these days, and customers can’t expect to see the arrival of anything new at a time when Microsoft is gradually phasing out Skype for Business completely.

On the other hand, Microsoft Teams has an offering called Advanced Threat Protection, which covers files on SharePoint and OneDrive, but doesn’t cover messages. Microsoft are working to cover this gap shortly but right now, this is missing. Moreover it is not clear if it will cover messages coming from Skype users to Teams. “This means that phishing – one of the most common attack vectors that we see in the market, isn’t covered. Another thing worth noting is that Advanced Threat Protection doesn’t have a great reputation for being a robust anti-phishing and anti-virus option.”

Until September 2019 Webex Teams did not offer to address such requirements, but Cisco have recently announced that they are now offering an integration with their CloudLock CASB product to address anti-virus threats.

Slack does not cover this threat and is expected to be supported by SphereShield by the end of the year.

How Does Your Software Work?

The security and compliance software for Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business and Cisco Webex Teams from AGAT aims to address the common security and compliance  problems in the collaboration space. It’s very easy for dangerous files to appear in today’s collaborative tools.

“People in your team can accidentally send a file or a dangerous link without realising it. Many of these platforms now also offer guest access too, and an authenticated guest could send a file that’s potentially dangerous”

AGAT software has two modes of protection available for today’s users. The first option is the real-time mode, which is the most practical choice for threats. This server-side solution requires no client-side installation because AGAT Software acts as a proxy between the server and client. “The content reaches our solution either by using our tech or APIs, and then it’s sent through to an inspection point using our built-in engine, or a third-party engine.”

AGAT also supports a non-intrusive form of easy-to-deploy content scanning via APIs, but Yoav noted that taking this route could mean that businesses have to accept the fact that they could be acting too late.

SphereShield detects viruses, trojans, worms and all kinds of malware, spyware and adware, screen capture malware, botnets, ransomware, crypto-mining malware as they happen – therefore keeping your users and data safe from harm.

What Happens When a Threat is Detected?

I was interested to learn what happens in the AGAT Software environment when a threat is detected on a collaboration tool like Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business, or Cisco Webex Teams. Yoav told me that it depends on the route you take with the tool. In a real-time case, the content won’t be downloaded, and the user will receive a message highlighting the issue that was identified. There’s also back-office capabilities where users can dive deeper into the nature of the problem.

“We can send notifications through IM and other alerts and offer a wide range of security auditing capabilities. What happens to the virus will depend on the anti-virus engine that you’re using. Our engine deletes the virus immediately”

AGAT Software offers a lot of freedom to companies when it comes to how they’d like to use the service. The company integrates with third-party vendors like McAfee, and Symantec, so users can continue to use their own third-party anti-virus solutions if they want to or leverage the AGAT service.

Yoav noted that AGAT Software is also offering a built-in anti-virus engine based on an open-source for quick and easy deployment

What’s Next for AGAT Software?

So far, the AGAT Software proposition for things like Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex Teams, Skype for Business and soon Slack, is an attractive offering for today’s brands. There’s no high cost of ownership to worry about, and businesses can access the product either in SaaS form or through the cloud. “Some users prefer to install the solution on-site, and some prefer as-a-service because they don’t have the resources to install it themselves.”

The flexible deployment options means that companies of any size or background will be able to access the solution that they need. In the future, AGAT Software is also thinking of adding more popular vendors into their list of partners such as support for Slack, to cover more of the UC market.

Source Article: https://www.uctoday.com/collaboration/team-collaboration/agat-introduces-threat-protection-for-collaboration/

Introduces first-to-market and unique capabilities to address data control in Webex Teams

For enterprises that promote a culture of Unified Communication & Collaboration (UCC) , the threat of both intentional or unintentional breach is real. The Jerusalem-based security provider has been hard at work building extra control  for external access authentication and data protection. The control included applications such as Ethical wall, Anti-Virus, Risk Engines & eDiscovery.

With security solutions for Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams, including its on-premises and Cloud offering, AGAT does what few in the market do. They secure already-stable business comms platforms by letting enterprises control:

• Who has access (user/device/location) to what information
• Who they can communicate with
• Who they can share it with
• Capture and audit all communication

Yoav Crombie, Co-Founder, and CEO at AGAT Software, shared with UC Today:

“A few years ago, we extended our capabilities to Microsoft Teams. Today, we are in the midst of developing solutions to cover/address the majority of the UCC market which will soon also include Zoom and Slack”

Tackling Compliance and Security Via Webex Teams

Even though Webex Teams is highly secure, there are still instances in which businesses are still at risk for a breach. This is where AGAT picks up the slack. With the help of its ‘Risk Engine,’ a heuristic and AI machine learning engine, organizations can apply security policies based on factors like IP address and country of origin and other User and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) capabilities, features that are sure to shape the way we view security, for the better.

“Enterprises seek to detect anomalies such as large amounts of data downloaded or login attempts from a strange location. We enable this by extending security beyond the scope of Webex Teams, focusing on the periphery where companies are most vulnerable.”

AGAT Software is pushing the innovation envelope through features like an ‘Ethical Wall’ function, which enables policy rules implementation and enforcement set/defined by the organization so that if something passes its ethics test in real-time, blocking an action if it is deemed unethical. ‘Conditional Access,’ is an additional  feature that further ensures enterprises stay secure. Crombie said the problem starts shortly after users login to their account. He continued:

“It is important to consider if the person logging in is logs in from an authorized and compliant device that with security level set by company”

These unique features are the heart of a unique niche AGAT’s carved out for itself, filling a security void that are (in a way out of reach) of the UCC platforms. AGAT Software can also detect if a device is compliance-level and approve or deny access to users. They even offer a powerful anti-virus solution to prevent files with malware from making it inside of organizations.

Organizations need to adopt different security approaches

The handling of sensitive information can be a daunting task and fraught with challenges along the way, something I gathered AGAT hopes to change by making security & compliance smarter and simpler.

Although it is impossible to stop malicious activities, mitigating the risk of a breach is often about taking preventative measures to make hackers jobs’ more difficult. The developers at AGAT Software understand this and have a rich knowledge of the security shortcomings of UC systems. They are, therefore, a force to be reckoned with.

Locking employee accounts and password spraying attacks just became more complex – thanks to the ‘outside the box’ thinking of AGAT Software developers – recent recipients of the UC Today award for Best Security Product.

Original Source: https://www.uctoday.com/collaboration/team-collaboration/agat-security-compliance-webex-teams/