A new startup, Adallom, has just come out of stealth mode with a new cloud-based offering that is intended to help organizations better monitor, audit and control the use of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) by its employees. To find out more, I spoke with Tal Klein, the company's VP of marketing.

VMblog:  Can you provide some background on Adallom as a company?

Tal Klein:  Definitely. Adallom is focused on taking a new approach to how enterprises protect their information in SaaS and cloud applications. We were founded in 2012 by cyber defense veterans Assaf Rappaport, Ami Luttwak and Roy Reznik, and are funded by Sequoia Capital. Our approach is prevention through intelligence, bridging the SaaS security gap by enabling companies to prevent innumerable modern attacks, comply with government and industry regulations, monitor, and verify the endless human interactions within SaaS applications.

VMblog:  What is the main threat Adallom is addressing?

Klein:  SaaS has dramatically reshaped the way people work and operate, allowing access to company applications and data from anywhere, on any device. However, with a vast increase in SaaS adoption, we are seeing a pronounced security gap where organizations are currently lacking the tools needed to build and enforce a consistent policy. Simply put, SaaS is secure, but we don't believe its usage is. As SaaS adoption grows, the resulting lack of visibility and control has become even more apparent.

VMblog:  In your opinion, who is currently responsible for SaaS security?

Klein:  This is a topic of debate right now. As much as cloud services are changing the way we work and operate for the better, security has become a huge issue. As of right now, SaaS providers are solely responsible for infrastructure security, leaving account activities on the shoulders of their clients. While on the whole this is a net security gain, as SaaS providers will have more resources to throw at protecting their infrastructure, it has made it nearly impossible for SaaS customers to build and enforce a strong cloud risk management policy. As SaaS adoption grows, the resulting lack of visibility and control has become more pronounced.

VMblog:  How does Adallom work?  And what are some of the key features?

Klein:  Adallom helps organizations adopt the cloud while avoiding the inherent risks. We conjoin discovery, detection and prevention capabilities to secure cloud activities across all services and devices. There are a number of key features to mention, including analysis of user activity in each cloud service based on contextual heuristics and detection of abnormal activity, visibility to internal, external, and collateral malware threats to SaaS applications, and a centralized audit dashboard of SaaS applications used within the organization.

VMblog:  Anything else you'd like to share with VMblog readers?

Klein:  We'd love to hear from you. What's your take on the SaaS security gap?

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Thanks again to Tal Klein, VP of marketing at Adallom, for taking time out to speak with VMblog and answer a few questions.