Proofpoint unveiled at its Protect event this week various initiatives aimed at offering cybersecurity teams increased control in real-time over the accessibility of applications and services by end users.
According to Tim Choi, who leads product marketing at Proofpoint, an Adaptive Information Protection platform utilizes machine learning algorithms to actively monitor user access to applications and services. When the risk level of any application escalates, the Adaptive Information Protection will promptly enforce stricter controls.
In 2025, Proofpoint plans to expand on these capabilities by introducing enhancements to its core platform. These upgrades will include measures to prevent users from sharing sensitive data with generative AI systems, tools to evaluate organizations’ overall security readiness, and a Collab Protection feature that restricts access to specific software-as-a-service applications and external services using the ZenWeb browser extension developed by the company.
ZenGuide, now known as Proofpoint Security Awareness Training, will soon offer employees customized learning paths based on their individual behavior patterns.
Central to Proofpoint’s portfolio are Proofpoint Nexus, a threat detection platform that leverages AI and behavioral analytics to mitigate risks, and Proofpoint Zen, a collection of technologies that limit access to sensitive data present in emails, collaboration apps, or online platforms.
These capabilities empower cybersecurity teams to embrace a human-focused strategy that adapts to the usage of applications and services in real-time. When Proofpoint identifies a malicious URL in an email, the security controls available to cybersecurity teams are notably more precise compared to other platforms, Choi mentions. This capability is made possible by Proofpoint’s platform, which scrutinizes over 17 trillion URLs annually, as per Choi.
Moreover, Proofpoint is striving to minimize the number of vendors involved in cybersecurity operations to lower the total cost. By reducing the numerous vendors that cybersecurity teams traditionally engage with, Proofpoint aims to streamline the security process, noted Choi.
A key challenge faced by organizations today is the way employees interact with and safeguard data across a wide-ranging application landscape that continues to expand. Each new SaaS application, whether approved or not, increases the attack surface that needs protection. These applications also become prime targets for credential theft, which if compromised, can be exploited across multiple services due to users frequently reusing passwords.
The key to securing contemporary application environments lies in being able to implement governance controls dynamically in real-time, assessing the risk level of each interaction, Choi emphasized.
No security system is flawless, but the multitude of opportunities for errors today is extensive. Breaches often result in the cybersecurity team bearing the responsibility for the incident rather than the end user who might have made the error in the first place.
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