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Skyhigh Becomes First Cloud Access Security Broker in Cooperative Purchasing Program

CIS CyberMarket is now offering cloud access security brokering to its state and local government members.

Skyhigh Networks, the first cloud access security broker to achieve cybersecurity compliance across the federal government, has entered into a partnership with the government purchasing cooperative CIS CyberMarket.

The company offers a security layer for cloud services in the form of control points. Using Skyhigh, information technology workers can define user roles, set permissions and track data. Security has been a concern of government officials looking to move systems to the cloud, especially when it comes to sensitive or personally identifiable information.

It’s the first time CIS CyberMarket, which serves state, local and tribal governments, has offered a cloud access security broker (CASB) to its members.

“When organizations move to the cloud, they leave behind the network perimeter and need a new point of control for all their users, devices and cloud applications,” said Jon Fyffe, Skyhigh’s director of U.S. state, local and education, in a press release. “Skyhigh’s CASB evolves security from prevention to protection, enforcing context and content-aware policies wherever data travels in the cloud.”

Most members of the cooperative purchasing group have plans to move to the cloud, according to the statement, but need security assurances before they can do so. As part of the partnership, CIS CyberMarket has negotiated discount rates for Skyhigh.

“Skyhigh’s CASB allows us to strategically use the cloud without compromising security and governance,” said Missouri Chief Information Security Officer Michael Roling in the statement.

Skyhigh is the only CASB to achieve authorization through the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, which federal agencies use to assess cloud vendors. State and local governments also often use FedRAMP as a proxy standard for buying cloud services.

Ben Miller is the associate editor of data and business for Government Technology. His reporting experience includes breaking news, business, community features and technical subjects. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno, and lives in Sacramento, Calif.