If you’re worried about data asset security as your business is digitally transformed and becomes more cloud-based, you’re not alone. Learn how SASE can help.
As the digital transformation of virtually all enterprise moves forward, traditional business networking becomes more and more concentrated in the cloud. However, this shift in computing has also required a shift in network security, with 95% of cloud security breaches being due to customer error in understanding the complexity of this issue. Because servers in the cloud are not under your direct physical control, in most situations, the question arises of how will you keep your business cloud secure? One popular option that has been growing by leaps and bounds is SASE, or Secure Service Access Edge, pronounced “sassy”. But what is it, why is it effective and how can you incorporate it into your business cloud to improve security?
Cloud security professional, Earl Foote of Nexus IT in Park City, UT shares his insights into the world of SASE and cloud security.
Using SASE to Grow Cloud Security
A large part of digital transformation is the movement from a centralized network to a cloud-based, decentralized network. This creates serious problems for business IT departments who are trying to manage identity and validate access controls for all of your services. This challenge has created the biggest attack vectors in today’s digital world. The variety of identity and access systems that are used today are spread across a wide range of different locations, including homes, businesses, hotels and coffee shops. Constantly providing secure access to your business’ sensitive data and inside systems is a virtual nightmare for most IT departments, one that SASE addresses very well.
SASE has been described as an emerging offering that creates a comprehensive combination of WAN capabilities while including wholesale network security functions while supporting the needs of the dynamic, secure digital enterprise. Its capabilities are provided as a service, using the entity’s ID, real-time context, the company’s security and compliance policies and regular, continuous assessment of risk versus trust during every session. The entities’ identities are associated with people, groups, devices, services, IoT systems, applications and edge computing, providing a more flexible approach to determining identity across an increasingly divergent set of assets. Due to its overall incorporation into all aspects of your business cloud network, it delivers higher levels of security while reducing latency and improving performance for your users.
SASE’s goal is moving from cloud-based firewalls, cloud access service brokers and software-defined networks to incorporating all of these systems into a single zero-trust model. This is a technique that has grown out of layer seven firewall, or next-gen firewall, technology, which incorporated firewalls, IDS/PS, gateway antivirus and proxies into a single cohesive system. In a similar fashion, SASE will take what has been traditionally separate assets and merge them into a single system, providing an environment that is easier to simplify and view. It allows the inspection engines to be moved to the sessions, rather than having to bring sessions to the inspection engines. This provides higher levels of control than have been previously available while simplifying the interface required to manage these controls.
By incorporating SASE into your overall business IT security plan, you can keep your business’ data secure in the cloud, despite the challenges that lay with the digital transformation process. If you’re not quite sure how to incorporate this new security technology into your business’ cloud network, our experienced professionals can help. Please feel free to reach out today to discover how we can help bring your business through digital transformation successfully.
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