Cloudflare to make deployment of zero trust security tools better for Microsoft

Cloudflare, Inc., the security, performance, and reliability company helping to build a better Internet, announced an expansion of its relationship with Microsoft to help customers easily deploy, automate, and enhance their organization’s Zero Trust security.

Critical programmes are now in the cloud and no longer housed inside an office with a secure boundary, making remote working more popular than ever. Enterprises have had to reevaluate historical solutions and ditch the conventional castle-and-moat approach to security in favour of Zero Trust due to the fundamental change in where and how people operate. Cloudflare has created a new set of connectors with Microsoft to support enterprises on this path as CIOs continue to negotiate this paradigm change. Mutual customers can now quickly deploy Zero Trust security technologies and add industry-first capabilities like Cloudflare’s Remote Browser Isolation technology without requiring complicated code changes.

Matthew Prince, CEO and co-founder at Cloudflare said “When I speak with CIOs, I continue to hear that their number one concern remains security, closely followed by adapting to the new hybrid world.”

Prince added “We want to make it easier than ever for IT leaders to deploy Zero Trust security across the enterprise and keep users safe wherever they are working from. I’m thrilled that we are deepening our integration with Microsoft so we can help our joint customers easily deploy Zero Trust security across some of the most used applications in the workplace.”

Cloudfare with the help of these integrations will now be able to give a comprehensive identity-driven approach to protect applications, users, devices and networks from attacks. Microsoft Identity solutions and Cloudflare network security tools work well with this integration to make a quality Zero Trust offering.

Joy Chik, President, Identity and Network Access, Microsoft said “A cloud-native zero trust security model has become an absolute necessity as enterprises continue to adopt a cloud-first strategy.”

Chik said “Cloudflare has developed robust product integrations with Microsoft to help security and IT leaders prevent attacks proactively, dynamically control policy and risk, and increase automation in alignment with zero trust best practices.”

Cloudflare and Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) customers can now:

• Deploy Zero Trust Security without changing one line of code: Now joint customers can choose to define specific rules in either Azure AD or in Cloudflare Access i.e. which users can access specific applications based on various factors such as user risk level, device platform, location, etc. and enforce across both products without changing a line of code.

• Isolate high-risk users automatically with industry-leading browser isolation technology: By integrating Cloudflare’s Remote Browser Isolation with Azure AD, high-risk users, such as temporary employees, are contained proactively in a remote browser session for added security.

• Save IT teams hundreds of hours of manual work: Cloudflare Access will use the System for Cross-Domain Identity Management (SCIM) to directly integrate with Azure AD. Groups are automatically synced across Cloudflare and Azure Active Directory platforms and groups, saving hundreds of hours of manual work from IT teams.

• Keep sensitive Government data off of the public Internet: By connecting Azure Government Cloud to Cloudflare’s global network via the Secure Hybrid Access (SHA) program, Government customers (‘GCC’) will be able to keep sensitive traffic secure by staying off of the public Internet. Additionally, Government customers (‘GCC’) will be able to define and enforce granular rules defining who can access what using the joint solution from the dashboard without any code changes.

Since 2018, Cloudflare and Microsoft have collaborated to improve Internet experiences for their respective clients by securing web apps and protecting staff members’ identities and devices. Many of the largest Fortune 500 firms have been helped on their Zero Trust journey by Cloudflare’s extensive integrations across Microsoft 365 and Azure, allowing customers to satisfy their security and performance needs quickly and easily. Cloudflare was most recently named the winner of Microsoft’s Security Software Innovator of the Year award.