UPDATED 03:00 EDT / MAY 18 2021

SECURITY

Barracuda adds AI-powered automation to its web application security platform

Barracuda Networks Inc. today released Cloud Application Protection 2.0, a new version of its software product for securing websites and web applications, that can automatically adjust its configuration settings in response to changing requirements. 

Barracuda is a major maker of cybersecurity software and appliances. The company traded on the Nasdaq until 2017, when it was acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in a $1.6 billion deal.

Barracuda’s Cloud Application Protection platform blocks malicious traffic to websites and software-as-a-service applications, while also providing features for defending their application programming interfaces. The platform is the company’s entry into a product category that is expected to see adoption double within two years. According to Gartner Inc. research cited by Barracuda, more than 30% of web applications will use cloud web application and API protection software by 2023, up from less than 15% today.

Cloud Application Protection 2.0 brings a so-called auto-configuration engine for managing the platform’s cybersecurity settings. Those settings determine, among others, when web traffic is considered malicious and under what circumstances requests should be blocked. The new auto-configuration engine uses machine learning to adjust how the platform filters traffic when operational requirements change.

There are many events, like changes to a company’s infrastructure, that require one or more cybersecurity settings to be modified. The larger the company, the more custom settings there are and the more frequently they need to be updated. By automating the task, Barracuda’s auto-configuration engine can theoretically reduce cybersecurity risks stemming from human error.

The other major addition in today’s update is a mechanism for blocking client-side attacks. In client-side attacks, cybercriminals download malicious scripts onto the user’s browser to steal data as credit card details from websites they visit. Because the scripts run in users’ browsers and don’t target the websites directly, they can be difficult to detect. Barracuda says that Cloud Application Protection 2.0 adds capabilities that detect when client-side malware attempts to compromise a company’s web pages and inform administrators.

The other enhancements announced today are designed to make the platform easier to manage. Cloud Application Protection is now available in a containerized version, which should make it easier to link to applications that are built using software containers. Barracuda has also added an integration that will allow Microsoft Corp. customers to see security alerts from Cloud Application Protection inside the interface of Microsoft’s Azure Sentinel breach detection platform.

The Azure Sentinel integration also makes it possible to automate certain common security operations. Companies can connect the service to Cloud Application Protection and have it automatically take action when the latter platform detects a possible cyberattack against a web application.

Image: Barracuda

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