The Role of Skyhigh Security’s UX Team in Empowering Cybersecurity Heroes

By Omkar Khadamkar - UX Design Architect, Skyhigh Security

November 9, 2023 5 Minute Read

While Cybersecurity Awareness Month has just wrapped up, and it is a good time to remember the importance of cybersecurity heroes who work to protect the organizations and the sensitive data. These heroes are key personas who use our products: the web security admins, network admins, data protection admins and many alike.

Introducing a Few of our Cybersecurity Heroes

Here are images of the cybersecurity heroes who use our products, based on our persona data sheets.

Understanding the Challenges Cybersecurity Heroes Face

Cybersecurity heroes are on the front lines of defending against ever-evolving and sophisticated cyber threats. They face many challenges, including:

Lack of visibility: It can be difficult to monitor and manage all of the threads, users, devices and applications on a network, especially in a hybrid work environment.

Tool complexity: Cybersecurity tools can be complex and difficult to use, especially for admins who are not security experts.

Lack of time and resources: Cybersecurity admins are often understaffed and overworked, making it difficult to keep up with the latest threats and regulations.
To address these challenges and support cybersecurity heroes, Skyhigh Security has developed a range of innovative products and features.

Key Products of Skyhigh Security that Empower Cybersecurity Heroes

• For Emily, our data protection admin persona, Utilizing data loss prevention (DLP) is an effective way to safeguard sensitive data from unauthorized access and disclosure. Skyhigh Security’s DLP solution offers a range of advanced features, such as DLP classifications, fingerprints and policies, which can be easily customized and managed by Emily.
• To better support Stacey, our web security admin persona, we recommend utilizing solutions such as Skyhigh Secure Web Gateway (SWG). This solution effectively help Stacey safeguard users from online threats by providing valuable insights into web traffic patterns. Additionally, with the aid of Skyhigh Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB): Shadow IT and Skyhigh CASB: Sanctioned, Stacey gains enhanced visibility and control over cloud applications and data to proactively mitigate potential risks associated with her organization’s online activities. Moreover, deploying the dependable protection provided by the Skyhigh Cloud Firewall ensures heightened defense against network attacks targeting cloud workloads.
• For Kawika, our network admin persona, consider using Skyhigh Private Access to ensure secure access to private applications. Additionally, Skyhigh Security Service Edge (SSE) offers a user-friendly and deployable unified security platform that safeguards your organization’s endpoints against various threats.

These solutions empower cybersecurity heroes to effectively manage and mitigate risks in their respective areas of expertise, ultimately contributing to the overall security posture of their organization.

Design Philosophy of the Skyhigh Security UX Team

The design philosophy of the Skyhigh Security UX team revolves around user-centricity and simplicity. We prioritize understanding the needs, goals, and challenges of cybersecurity heroes and translating those into intuitive and efficient solutions. The UX team at Skyhigh Security follows a user-centered design approach, where we involve these heroes in the product development process from the initial research phase to the final testing and implementation phase.

We at the UX team assist these heroes in achieving their goals by creating solutions that are:

• Proactive: Skyhigh Security’s solutions are designed to provide cybersecurity professionals with the necessary tools and information to proactively detect and address threats, minimizing potential damage.
• Empowering: Our user-friendly and easily deployable solutions empower cybersecurity heroes to concentrate on their primary responsibilities.
• Supportive: Additionally, our knowledge base, team of experts and supportive community is always available to assist cybersecurity heroes in achieving success.

A Couple of the Recent UX Case Studies that Benefited Cybersecurity Heroes:

Case Study 1: Skyhigh Security Improves UX for Data Protection Admins Like Emily

Emily is a Data Protection Admin at a global organization. She is responsible for protecting sensitive customer data from unauthorized access and disclosure. Skyhigh Security’s platform has been continuously working towards improving the user experience and automation processes for Emily.

Goals

• Make the Skyhigh Security platform more user-friendly and accessible to a wider range of users.
• Reduce the need for users to rely on technical jargon by providing clear and concise explanations of concepts.
• Automate tasks wherever possible to save users time and effort.

Solution
We made a number of user experience improvements to the platform, including:

• Simpler language and more detailed explanations: We are constantly updating the Help documentation and labelling to use simpler language and provide more detailed explanations of technical concepts.
• Consistent user experience: We ensured that the user experience is consistent across the platform, including the Index data matching and Classification Editor.
• Automated and easy tasks: The newly designed workflow includes automated exporting and easier updating of fingerprints, saving users time and effort.

Results

The UX improvements have made a significant difference for Emily. She is now able to use Skyhigh Security Platforms’ Fingerprinting features more efficiently and accurately to protect her organization’s data.

Case Study 2: How We Empowered Employees at Large and Medium Organizations with User-Specific Private Applications Launchpad

With the new ‘user specific launchpad’ feature, we’re making it easier for Kawika, the network admin, to map users with the apps they need to do their jobs. This will give Amanda, the employee and other employees at large enterprises a faster and easier way to find the apps they need, which will help them be more productive.

Goal

Provide employees like Amanda with a personalized launchpad that would show them the private apps they have access to.

Solution

Skyhigh Security’s User with visibility Private Applications Launchpad option allows network admins like Kawika to map application visibility to employees. This means that Amanda can now see a personalized launchpad that only shows her the apps she needs to view.

Results

• Faster and personalized private apps discovery: Employees can now quickly and easily find the apps they need, without having to scroll through a long list of irrelevant apps.
• Improved productivity: Employees can save time and frustration by quickly finding the apps they need to do their jobs.

Calling all Cybersecurity Heroes: Join our Community Conversations and Case Studies

As Cybersecurity Awareness Month has just drawn to a close, we salute the cybersecurity heroes who keep us safe. Thank you for your dedication and service. The Skyhigh Security UX team is committed to empowering these heroes. Join our Champions program and community to also participate in challenges to help us design the best possible products.