Salesforce encryption platform Shield gets expanded event monitoring services

Salesforce is expanding its drag-and-drop encryption platform Shield with the addition of a real-time security policy engine.

First rolled out last year, Salesforce Shield offers built in, bundled services such as archiving, monitoring, encryption and auditing for apps built on the Salesforce1 platform.

Salesforce touted the product for its ease of use, but more so its ability to help businesses comply with internal governance policies and industry regulations in a cloud app environment that is rapidly innovating.

The latest update is essentially a new capability of event monitoring. It gives IT administrators the ability to interrupt user actions in real-time and instantly restrict access if they suspect questionable behavior.

Transaction security is also customizable. For instance, a company can designate its customer account records as intellectual property and configure Shield to take an action if a user attempts to export a large number of files.

Administrators could define a security policy to either block the action, end the session or alert the administrator, depending on the situation. The system can also require two-factor authentication for certain user requests.

Pricing for Shield is on an individual basis, as Salesforce says it will charge customers a percentage of their total Salesforce product spend in order to access the services. However, the various components of Salesforce Shield can be purchased together or individually.