Cisco Umbrella vs Netskope vs Zscaler Internet Access comparison

Cisco Umbrella delivers rapid DNS security with over 30,000 customers, providing outstanding threat protection and handling more than 600 billion requests daily. It's recognized for high threat efficacy in the SSE domain and integrates elements like SWG, ZTNA, CASB, and more.

Cisco Umbrella is renowned for its effective DNS-layer security against ransomware and phishing. It offers flexible content filtering and integrates seamlessly with existing networks while providing single-pane-of-glass management for centralized monitoring. Its robust threat intelligence and customizable policies are central to its appeal. Users highlight room for improvement in areas like WHOIS data inclusion, malware enhancement, and reporting analytics. Integration with other threat feeds and better client support are requested for more comprehensive coverage.

• DNS-Layer Security: Blocks malicious domains, preventing ransomware attacks.
• Web Content Filtering: Allows users to manage lists for strict content control.
• Seamless Integration: Blends with systems like Active Directory and Meraki.
• Remote Protection: Keeps remote users safe across different locations.
• Single-Pane Management: Facilitates effective monitoring and reporting.

• Threat Intelligence: Provides comprehensive malware and attack data.
• Customizable Policies: Enables tailored security measures for users.
• Integration Options: Works with diverse systems for holistic security.
• Ease of Use: Offers a straightforward experience for administrators.
• Remote Worker Security: Ensures protection outside traditional networks.

Industries implement Cisco Umbrella primarily for DNS-level security, web filtering, and protecting remote employees. It strengthens cybersecurity frameworks by blocking malware and avoiding access to harmful sites. The tool is widely integrated with Active Directory and Cisco Meraki, providing consistent internet security for employees.

Netscope is a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) platform that includes core products such as Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) and Security Service Edge (SSE).

Netskope CASB is a cloud access security broker tool that allows you to adopt cloud applications and services without sacrificing security. The solution makes it possible to manage the movement of sensitive data between cloud app instances and in the context of app risk and user risk. With Netskope’s industry-leading cloud security solution, you can also prevent sensitive data from being exfiltrated from your environment by risky insiders or malicious cybercriminals who have breached your perimeter.

Netskope CASB Features

Netskope CASB has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

• Cloud app risk scoring: With this feature you can automatically audit your traffic to discover your overall risk profile.

• Advanced data loss protection: The solution’s data loss protection capabilities provide contextual awareness of content being used in the cloud and include machine learning enhancements to simplify, expedite, and accurately scan and classify data.

• Granular visibility and control: The Netskope CASB solution gives you inline visibility for thousands of apps (managed and unmanaged) in use, including users, file names, activity, and other contextual information.

• Real-time enforcement: Netskope CASB offers real-time enforcement of security policies to prevent data loss and stop threats.

• Streamlined operations: Because of its streamlined operations, you can identify, mitigate, and remediate insider threats, compromised accounts, and privileged user threats across web and cloud applications within a single centralized administrative console.

• Global scale and performance: The solution runs on NewEdge, a carrier-class global network, to provide maximum performance and efficacy worldwide.

Netskope CASB Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing Netskope CASB. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

• Granular control of personal devices: With Netskope CASB, you can enforce granular control of unmanaged devices that have single-sign-on (SSO) access to managed cloud services, like Box and Microsoft 365.

• Data protection: The solution has a single pane of glass and a policy interface that is easy to use to create security policies across cloud services, apps, and digital assets.

• Find cloud services in use and assess risk: Netskope CASB can help you discover 50,000+ cloud apps and also provides risk-ratings for cloud apps so you can devise appropriate security policies.

• Data exfiltration prevention: By using this solution, you can prevent users on corporate cloud services who download sensitive data from uploading that data to unmanaged or personal cloud apps.

• Protection against cloud threats: Netskope CASB enables you to stop malware and advanced threats from infected users spreading through your organization. The solution directly blocks malware, whether it’s delivered from collaboration tools or downloaded from a cloud storage service to a sync client.

Reviews from Real Users

Netskope CASB is a solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Some of its major advantages are that it offers great reporting, has a good tracking mechanism, and has a solid Cloud Control feature.

Prerna S., Senior Information Security Analyst II at Workato, says, “[Netskope] CASB has a lot of good features; their reporting and tracking mechanism is amazing.”

PeerSpot reviewer Dima Z., Director at Irangers International Inc., mentions, “The most useful feature of this solution is Cloud Control, which allows me to schedule cloud uploads.”

Syed H., Lead Cloud Security Practice at Vincacyber, states, "I have found the most useful features to be the Web Secure Gateway, CASB, infrastructural service scanning, and Zero Trust."

Zscaler Internet Access is a cloud-native security service edge (SSE) platform. Its main purpose is to provide AI-powered protection for all users, all applications, and all locations. The solution replaces other legacy network security solutions to stop advanced attacks and prevent data loss by using a comprehensive zero trust approach.

Zscaler Internet Access Features

Zscaler Internet Access has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

• Proxy (native SSL)
• IPS and advanced protection
• Cloud sandbox
• DNS security
• Cloud firewall
• URL filtering
• Bandwidth control
• DNS filtering
• Cloud DLP w/EDM and IDM
• Cloud access security broker (CASB)
• Cloud security posture management (CSPM)
• CloudBrowser isolation
• Cloud secure web gateway (SWG)
• Zero trust network access (ZTNA)
• Digital experience monitoring

Zscaler Internet Access Benefits

There are several benefits to implementing Zscaler Internet Access. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

• Fast access with zero infrastructure: Zscaler Internet Access creates a fast, seamless user experience because of its direct-to-cloud architecture. With no infrastructure, Zscaler Internet Access helps you eliminate backhauling, which improves performance and simplifies network administration.

• Threat intelligence: By using threat intelligence, Zscaler Internet Access can stop ransomware, zero-day malware, and advanced attacks via Inline inspection of all internet traffic, including SSL decryption, and a suite of AI-powered cloud security services. 

• Consistent security: With Zscaler Internet Access, your security policy goes everywhere your users go. When you move security to the cloud, all users, applications, devices, and locations remain protected and secure based on identity and context.

• Hybrid workforce: Zscaler Internet Access enables secure access to all external and internal apps from anywhere, so remote work is not an issue. You can also enforce business policies that follow the user, making security identical regardless of location.

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by Zscaler Internet Access users.

A Service Manager at a construction company says, "There are a bunch of different capabilities that are valuable within the platform. We use quite a lot of them, but not everything. The ones that are most important to us are the URL Filtering and the application control. For our needs, the cloud-native proxy architecture is a very good solution. This architecture helps with cyber threats because we inspect most of the traffic and we can see that a lot of threats are stopped directly in the secure web gateway."

Owen N., Security Architect at Claro Enterprise Solutions, explains that the solution’s most valuable features include “The integration of the gateway that inspects all ports and protocols. So, there is threat prevention; The cloud sandbox; VNS security; Access control that will protect URL filtering and the cloud firewall; Data protection that will protect your gateway, like your CASB or your cloud DLP; The capabilities of this will point your traffic to Zscaler Cloud.”

An Architecture Senior Manager at an insurance company mentions, "The data loss prevention feature is the most valuable. It stops our users from inadvertently leaking our customers' data to the Internet or anywhere else it shouldn't go." He also adds, “The solution provides quick access to cloud services, securing our data and allowing us to inspect all our traffic.”