Beyond CASB: Strengthening Cloud Security with Deep File Inspection & Data Protection

As organizations continue their shift to cloud-first operations, Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) have become a critical part of securing cloud environments. By regulating access, monitoring data flow, and enforcing security policies, CASBs help organizations maintain control over cloud applications and prevent unauthorized data exposure.

However, today’s cyber threats have evolved beyond what CASBs were originally designed to handle. Attackers are embedding malware inside seemingly legitimate files, exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities, and using sophisticated techniques to bypass access controls. At the same time, regulatory pressures around data privacy and compliance are increasing, requiring organizations to do more than just monitor and restrict data movement.

Perimeter-focused security is no longer enough on its own. A file may pass all CASB policy checks but still contain hidden threats or expose sensitive data. Without deeper content inspection, organizations are left with a significant security blind spot, one that traditional security solutions struggle to address.

To close this gap, organizations need more than access control. They need proactive file security—solutions that inspect, sanitize, and protect content at the file level—ensuring that every piece of data moving into, out of, or within their systems is safe, trusted, and compliant.

The Gaps in CASB and DLP Solutions

Organizations need more than access control to close the gaps listed above—they need deep file inspection that proactively neutralizes threats before they have a chance to spread.

CASB and DLP (Data Loss Prevention) solutions have long been cornerstones of cloud security strategies. CASBs are particularly effective at enforcing access controls, monitoring data flow, and upholding security policies. They provide organizations with visibility into cloud applications, helping to prevent unauthorized access and data leakage. Some CASB solutions also include basic data inspection capabilities, allowing them to detect and block certain types of sensitive information from leaving the organization.

However, CASBs have a critical limitation: their primary focus is regulating access and data movement rather than securing the content within files. While they can restrict who can upload, download, or share files, they are not designed to inspect the files deeply enough to detect hidden threats. Malware can be embedded in seemingly harmless documents, and zero-day exploits can evade CASB’s limited detection capabilities. Additionally, CASBs operate primarily at the perimeter, securing cloud applications from unauthorized external access, but often lack the ability to monitor and control the movement of threats within the organization, also known as east-west traffic.

At the same time, traditional DLP solutions attempt to address some of these concerns by scanning for sensitive data and enforcing compliance policies. However, they, too, come with significant drawbacks. Many DLP tools rely on predefined rules and pattern matching to identify potential risks, often resulting in false positives. This forces security teams to manually sift through alerts, leading to inefficiencies and potential oversight. DLP solutions also struggle with dynamic data environments, where files and content constantly change. Rigid rule sets may block legitimate business operations, causing frustration among users and prompting workarounds that introduce new security risks.

Perhaps most critically, neither CASB nor DLP solutions are designed to proactively neutralize threats hidden within files. They can detect and block files based on policy violations but do not sanitize them or ensure they are completely free from malware. Not only does this mean that productivity comes to a halt as files are blocked and inspected, this also means organizations relying solely on these solutions remain vulnerable to advanced cyber threats, data exfiltration techniques, and accidental exposure of sensitive information.

How to Enhance CASB and SASE Security

While CASB and DLP solutions provide essential security functions, they leave gaps in content security that expose organizations to hidden threats. Security must go beyond access control and policy enforcement. It must proactively neutralize risks before they become a problem. This is where solutions like Data Detection & Response (DDR) enhance CASB and SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) security, ensuring that every file entering, leaving, or moving within an organization is safe, compliant, and threat-free.

Solutions that operate on a DDR model, particular in regards to zero trust, treat every file as potentially risky. Unlike traditional detection-based security tools, which rely on scanning and blocking, some DDR tools can actively disarm embedded threats inside files in real time before they ever reach a user. This proactive approach eliminates known and unknown malware, including zero-day threats that CASB and DLP solutions cannot catch. Beyond traditional inbound and outbound traffic monitoring, DDR tools can also secure east-west data movement, ensuring that privacy risks don’t spread laterally within an organization. Whether a file is being shared internally, uploaded to the cloud, or downloaded to an endpoint, sophisticated DDR solutions can ensure it is entirely safe and user-approved.

Strengthening Cloud Security with Votiro Zero Trust DDR

Attackers continue to evolve, embedding malware in seemingly benign documents, exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities, and finding ways to circumvent traditional security measures. Meanwhile, regulatory pressures demand stronger data privacy protections, requiring organizations to do more than just monitor and restrict data movement.

This is why the Votiro Zero Trust Data Detection & Response platform is a game-changer. Votiro DDR enhances cloud security by filling these critical gaps, ensuring that every file entering, leaving, or moving within an organization is completely safe. By actively preventing malware, securing sensitive data with real-time masking, and integrating seamlessly with CASB and SASE frameworks, Votiro offers a proactive, zero-trust approach to data security. 

Two-fold Data Security

Votiro strengthens privacy and compliance with Active Data Masking technology. As files move through cloud applications, collaboration tools, and storage systems, they often contain sensitive data such as Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI), and Payment Card Information (PCI). Unlike static DLP policies that rely on rigid rules, Votiro dynamically identifies and anonymizes sensitive data, preventing accidental exposure while allowing legitimate business operations to continue uninterrupted. This ensures that organizations remain compliant with regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS without disrupting productivity.

Another key advantage of Votiro is its expansive coverage beyond traditional CASB and DLP solutions. While CASB focuses on access control and policy enforcement at the cloud application level, Votiro provides security at the file level, inspecting and sanitizing content wherever it travels—across endpoints, cloud platforms, collaboration suites, and beyond. This deeper layer of protection ensures that threats can’t bypass security checkpoints by hiding within legitimate files.

Now, Votiro is not an outright replacement for CASB or SASE security solutions but an enhancement. Seamless integration ensures that Votiro works alongside existing security stacks without requiring major infrastructure changes or disrupting established policies. By automating threat sanitization and privacy compliance in real-time, Votiro alleviates the burden on security teams, reducing manual reviews and false positives while significantly improving overall security posture.

The Value of a Unified Approach

Organizations juggle multiple security tools, each addressing a specific need but rarely working together seamlessly and efficiently. CASB solutions regulate access, DLP tools attempt to control data leakage, and endpoint security platforms provide additional layers of defense. Yet, despite all these safeguards, gaps remain, especially regarding file security, malware prevention, and data privacy. Instead of adding another siloed solution to an already crowded security stack, organizations need a unified approach that enhances security without increasing complexity.

This is where Votiro DDR, which combines malware prevention, privacy protection, and secure file sanitization in one solution, makes a real difference with security teams. Instead of relying on multiple tools that operate in isolation, each with its own policies, alerts, and maintenance requirements, organizations can consolidate their efforts with a solution that seamlessly integrates into existing workflows. By automating real-time threat sanitization and active data masking, this approach not only strengthens security but also reduces the operational burden on security teams, eliminating the need to sift through endless false positives or manually review flagged files.

Adopting a unified security model doesn’t mean replacing existing investments. Businesses have already built their security architectures around CASB, SASE, and DLP solutions, and a rip-and-replace strategy is impractical and costly. Instead of forcing organizations to start over, a complementary solution should work alongside these tools, enhancing their capabilities rather than duplicating their functions. Rather than reacting to threats after they’ve been detected, integrating Votiro’s open-API prevents them from ever reaching the organization in the first place, offering proactive protection rather than reactive mitigation.

Take a quick, yet personalized demo of Votiro to learn how our zero trust DDR strengthens your existing security stack. You’ll find that Votiro provides the missing layer of protection against hidden threats and compliance risks that you’ve been looking for.