Tag Archives: cloud services

CyBlock/Cyfin Release 9.2.6 Now Available

In Release 9.2.6, we are pleased to provide the ability to pair multiple cloud accounts in Hybrid deployments extending your local CyBlock policies to employees in multiple regions. Multiple cloud accounts can also be paired with your CyBlock Directory Agent instance to update the groups and IDs information for employees across multiple regions.

Also in this release is the ability to set a different time zone in your cloud account based on where your Web activity is occurring versus the time zone of your cloud instance. For MSP Partners, the time zone can be set for each of your customers. For Hybrid deployments, the time zone can be set for each of your cloud accounts. The enhancements are highlighted below.

  • Multiple CyBlock Hybrid Cloud Accounts
    • Hybrid Configuration. The ability to pair your local CyBlock installation with multiple CyBlock Cloud accounts is now available on the Hybrid Configuration page. Any configuration changes, including policy changes, in your local CyBlock instance are automatically synced with all paired cloud accounts.
    • Data Management. The cloud log file name is now in the format cloudproxy_cloudserver+port_date.txt and is truncated. You can hover over it to view the full name.
    • Real-Time Web Monitor. Your multiple hybrid configurations are displayed in the Data Configuration drop-down field. Monitor the live Web traffic of any cloud account by selecting the associated hybrid configuration.
    • Reporting. Your multiple hybrid configurations are also available for selection in Dashboard charts and in reports allowing you to view the data for any cloud account.
  • Multiple CyBlock Directory Agent Cloud Accounts
    • The ability to pair your CyBlock Directory Agent installation with multiple CyBlock Cloud accounts is now available on the Directory Agent Configuration page. This allows you to synchronize your internal Active Directory with multiple cloud accounts.
    • Any AD configuration changes in CyBlock Directory Agent are automatically synced with all paired cloud accounts.
  • Cloud Web Activity Time Zone
    • Cloud Customers. The time zone in which your organization’s Web activity is occurring can now be set in your CyBlock Cloud account. The default Web activity time zone is the time zone of your cloud instance, but this can be changed. Web activity displayed in the Dashboard charts, reports, and real-time monitors will reflect the time zone that is set for your cloud account.
    • MSP Customers. For MSP Partners, the time zone can be set for each of your customers. Web activity displayed in the Dashboard charts, reports, and real-time monitors will reflect the time zone that is set for that specific customer.
    • Hybrid Deployments. For Hybrid deployments, the time zone can be set for each of your CyBlock Cloud accounts. Reporting is based on your local CyBlock instance time.

There are also corrections in this release. To see the full release notes for your product, visit our Web site or knowledge base. You can upgrade to the latest release by going to the Help – Check for Updates screen in your product.

For additional assistance, please feel free to contact us.

Do You Have the Necessary Enterprise Cloud Services Visibility?

img_cloud_computingToday, cloud services are the way businesses run. Collaboration among employees, file sharing, data storage, and even accounting are accomplished via cloud services. There are very few businesses left that use absolutely no cloud services. It is just a fact that we all live in a world with data spread out everywhere, at speeds we could not even fathom ten years ago. Hence, the concept of Shadow IT, Shadow Data, and Shadow IoT (Internet of Things) are becoming more commonplace terms. All of these are basically variations on employees using services and devices outside of their IT department’s knowledge. What does it all mean when running your business? Two questions . . . do you know what cloud services are being used and where your data is going?

Visibility . . . a key element for enterprise security. Knowing what cloud services your users are accessing is detailed visibility that a business can’t live without. Unsanctioned cloud applications and services can expose the company’s network and data security to a long list of serious threats. The IT department knows managers want the Web-usage visibility too . . . without the rest of the “visual noise” and meaningless information (to them, at least). They want detail on what employees are doing with cloud services, and they want it easily accessible, interactive, understandable, and meaningful.

It is time to take a good look at what’s being used to monitor and control your employees’ cloud services usage. Make sure you have a Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) solution that gives you the critical cloud services management tools you need. Learn more about how to Detect, Analyze, and Manage Cloud Services in the Enterprise.

About Wavecrest Computing

Celebrating 20 years in business, Wavecrest Computing, headquartered in historic downtown Melbourne, FL, has provided commercial business and government clients with reliable, accurate Web-use management and Cloud Access Security Broker products since 1996. Managed Service Providers, IT specialists, HR professionals, and business managers trust Wavecrest’s Cyfin and CyBlock products to manage employee Internet usage — managing cloud services, reducing liability risks, improving productivity, saving bandwidth, and controlling costs. Wavecrest has clients worldwide, including General Electric, Lockheed Martin, Florida Department of Health, Siemens, Department of Homeland Security, and a growing list of global enterprises and government agencies. We are a proud long-term GSA contract holder. For more information on the company, products, and partners, visit https://www.wavecrest.net.

 

CyBlock/Cyfin Release 9.2.2 Now Available

We are pleased to announce the release of several enhancements in the new version of CyBlock and Cyfin. The first major enhancement is the new Wavecrest URL List 9 that adds specific cloud service categories, such as Collaboration and Cloud Storage, as well as renames and remaps categories, giving you more visibility into the Web sites and cloud services your employees are using. To report on cloud service activity, we have added the Cloud Services Detail and Cloud Services Summary reports.

Another enhancement is for CyBlock Appliance. The Real-Time Protocol Monitor has been updated to function just like the Real-Time Web Monitor. With icons now available on the monitor, you can easily control the live protocol traffic you want to see.

For CyBlock Cloud, logon accounts have been enhanced for individual customers as well as Managed Service Providers (MSPs). MSP-linked customers can now be given full access to the product interface and be licensed for additional logons. MSPs can create logon accounts for their own company as well as for their customers and also view the last interface logon for their customers. The enhancements are highlighted below.

  • Wavecrest URL List 9. The following features have been added:
    • The new URL List 9 includes new categories, category changes, default abuse threshold changes (not applicable to CyBlock Cloud), cloud service categories, and updated category descriptions. See Category Update for more information.
    • (not applicable to CyBlock Cloud) For existing customers on a previous list version, the following changes apply after upgrading the product:
      • On the Home page, the Wavecrest URL List Update section indicates that the new list is available and that you read the Category Update document before upgrading the list. A link is provided to go to the URL List Version page.
      • URL List Version Page:
        • The List 9 option has been added to the page.
        • After you upgrade to List 9, the service is restarted, and you are required to download the list. You are then returned to the URL List Version page which indicates that the current URL List version is 9.
        • A List Conversion Summary Report shows the policies and URL customizations that were affected by the change to List 9. It will also be sent via e-mail to the administrator.
    • Individual CyBlock Cloud customers and MSP Partners will be sent the List Conversion Summary Report via e-mail. MSP Partners will receive one e-mail per customer account.
    • For CyBlock Hybrid customers, ensure that your local CyBlock installation is on List 9 in order to sync with your cloud account.
  • Cloud Services Reports. The following features have been added:
    • Report Selection. On the Report Selection page, a Cloud Services Reports section has been added. Cloud Services Detail and Cloud Services Summary are listed in this section and generate reports on only cloud service categories.
    • Cloud Services Summary. This is a high-level report that shows employee Web use of cloud services. Web activity includes visits to sites in the following cloud service categories: Audio Streaming, Cloud Infrastructure, Cloud Storage, Collaboration, CRM, Development, File Sharing, HR, Personal E-Mail, Video Streaming, and VoIP Services. The report can be used to identify cloud service usage patterns, better manage cloud subscriptions, and highlight abnormal activity.
    • Cloud Services Detail. This is a low-level report that shows the specific URLs of cloud services by user, that is, visits to only the cloud service categories. It provides management with a complete view of every cloud service URL the user has clicked. This information can be used for cloud usage audits, identifying the most active users and the most heavily visited sites.

CyBlock Appliance

  • Real-Time Protocol Monitor. The following features have been added:
    • The Real-Time Protocol Monitor page has been updated to function like and have a similar user interface to the Real-Time Web Monitor.
      • The selections for the Controls field have been moved to the Real-Time Protocol Monitor and replaced by icons.
    • On the Real-Time Protocol Monitor, the controls and settings are available in a toolbar and can be changed while the monitor is gathering data in real time.

CyBlock Cloud

  • Additional Admin Accounts. The following features have been added:
    • On the User Management – Logon Accounts – Add screen, the Additional Logons field displays the number of additional logon accounts that have been created in the interface out of the number of licensed additional logons.
    • On the User Management – Logon Accounts – Delete screen, the Logon Accounts label has been added to the selection box.
    • If you are an MSP Partner adding or deleting a logon account, the Customer menu in the upper-right corner is removed, and the Customer field is displayed allowing you to select a customer or your own company.
  • MSP Partner Portal. The following features have been added:
    • Interface Access for MSP-Linked Customers:
      • MSP-linked customers can now have full access to the product interface.
      • MSP-linked customers will be licensed for 5 logon accounts and can add and delete logon accounts from these licensed logons.
      • Once a logon account has been created for an MSP-linked customer, they will receive an e-mail notification to complete their registration by logging on to the interface.
      • After logging on with the temporary password, they will be required to change their password on the Change Your Password screen.
    • Home Page:
      • When you click a customer name in your customer list, an Interface Details section is now displayed on the General tab.
      • The Last Interface Logon field shows the last date/time on which your customer logged on to the interface.
      • The Additional Logons field displays the number of additional logon accounts that your customer has created in the interface out of their number of licensed additional logons.

There are also a number of corrections in this release. To see the full release notes for your product, visit our Web site or knowledge base. You can upgrade to the latest release by going to the Help – Check for Updates screen in your product.

For additional assistance, please feel free to contact us.

Can you see your enterprise shadow IT?

shadow-it-300x171Can you? It’s there…hidden on your employees’ devices and on your network. We all know people try to use the path of least resistance in getting something done. Today, cloud computing allows us all to do almost anything from anywhere with relatively no resistance at all. Within corporations though, this can become a problem commonly known as shadow IT. “There are an astonishing 10,000 cloud services available on the market today, which creates a growing problem for IT around Shadow IT as only 9.3 percent of those apps meet enterprise data, security and legal requirements, cloud security company Skyhigh Networks found in its Q1 2015 Cloud Adoption and Risk Report.” Corporations need to control their proprietary information, network, and Web security. While employees may be thinking they can get their job done faster, the corporation is thinking about threats. “The result is technologies that empower individuals and teams limit the organisation as a whole.”

There are several views for this, all valuable. From the employees’ view, they believe they are finding ways to be more productive and efficient by using technology that is easily accessible and likely, not costing the corporation anything additional. It is quick and easy and can get the job done before the IT department would even have a chance to look at a request form. So, why would the corporation be upset? Here’s why–unauthorized applications, or shadow IT, can cause serious risks, such as Malware, data loss, and other severe network security concerns. As the responsible party, IT needs to know what is happening, especially when it comes to the random unauthorized applications users are bringing into the network.

What can be done? Which view holds more importance? That depends on your organization but gathering the information to make that decision can be quick and easy. You need total visibility into Web use so you can find and analyze any potential shadow IT. Proactive, comprehensive reporting of all Web-use activity allows a full view of users’ activities. IT and management need to see detailed drill-down activity per user, per group, or per category, and determine if the “shadow” application is to be quarantined, or discover the application is actually useful to the organization as a whole and add to the acceptable applications list.

It is important to take into consideration the employees’ need to have access to useful and contemporary tools. No post, article, or news story can tell you what to do within your organization. Only you know what will best suit your environment. Try collaboration though, between users, management, and IT. The key is to find the most useful applications and move toward applications that work, with the best interest of the overall corporation at heart.

Wavecrest Computing has been the recognized leader in Web Security for over 19 years with CyBlock and Cyfin Solutions. These scalable filtering and forensic reporting analysis products are designed to enable organizations to successfully address Internet abuse, legal liability, shadow IT, workforce productivity, and Web security threats.