How secure is your organization from external online threats? For enterprise companies, Security Access Service Edge (SASE) is the latest buzz in the cybersecurity world. It is, in many ways, an undeniable security trend. One would argue it is a complete architectural transformation of security and networking in huge organizations.
SASE has one advantage over its predecessors. It has everything it takes to cement its place as an essential set of software tools for any cybersecurity framework. This is very important today as organizations implement a work-from-home strategy.
Instead of relying on data center-oriented security, SASE moves away from the now-dated practice to one single cloud-based service. This provides edge-to-edge protection for both remote users and data centers. Below are the new and projected trends about SASE.
Combining Multiple Tools
In IT, merging multiple tools into one solution is no new concept. Microsoft does it with Microsoft 365, and the SaaS (Service as a Software) app. This allows access to multiple software such as Excel, Outlook, and Word via a single login. Google also does it with its suite of apps. This facilitates remote access to multiple tools under one credential.
The model is the same one SASE uses. It converges WAN (Wide Area Networking) with indispensable cloud-based security tools. Some of these tools include CASB (cloud access security broker), and FwaaS (Firewall as a Service). SASE allows enterprise personnel instant access to their organization’s applications. It also makes it easy to access data from any device regardless of their geographical location.
Drivers and Pacesetters
SASE is not necessarily new technology, rather it is a slight change on networking technology that has been used before. Security in the cloud has been around for years, but SASE is the convergence of security and WAN, not at the premise, or the data center, but at the network edge – essentially, it’s about the logistics of where the security sits and how it is managed. SASE’s market is steadily growing even as the world struggles to adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus has grounded almost everything to a halt. But this current reality seems to be where SASE will bloom. Additionally, with workforce being much more remote, a solid network topology needs to address the changes in a post-pandemic world.
According to multiple SASE market evaluation reports, companies are already integrating the cloud-based service into their infrastructure. By June 2020, Versa Networks had already launched SASE SD-WAN (Software-defined Wide Area Network) private connectivity. This was to provide services for personnel working from home. With the service, the company’s employees can access applications in both private and public clouds.
By the same month, Forcepoint had also launched a suite of security access service edge solutions. Dubbed the Forcepoint Dynamic Edge Protection (DEP) of SASE and Zero Trust solutions. The suite has offerings such as Private Access Offerings and Cloud Security Gateway. Other key players in the SASE global market include Proofpoint, Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, Symantec, McAfee, Zscaler, Vmware, Cato Networks, and Cisco.
Point Solutions Can’t Keep Up
The CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) released the second chapter of their Cyber Essentials Toolkit. The chapter serves as an improved guide for government agencies and organizations. The agency educates these bodies on a holistic approach to reduce the risk of online threats. It also advises them on fundamental foundations essential to sturdy cybersecurity frameworks.
The information provided by the toolkit is credible. But there is one major drawback. The agency seems to overly rely on multiple point solutions as the ultimate protection against online threats. Anyone familiar with point solutions knows that it fixes a single specific problem. As more threats get discovered, the organization will have to add more point solutions. This results in an ever-growing technology stack.
The growth of technology stacks is what SASE is here to do away with. The major disadvantage of having security stacks is that they’re prone to alert overloads on account of potential threats. It becomes challenging for a business to secure its network in such circumstances. SASE is a tool that consolidates a variety of security components into a single bundle. This makes it perfectly poised as the next big thing. It also comes with greater flexibility and security. The efficiency of SASE makes the service even more attractive.
The Bottom Line
The fact that SASE is new tech should not fool anyone into doubting the service’s capabilities. IT security teams across the globe need to familiarize themselves with this latest trend in their field of expertise. This is because cloud-based security solutions are for one, easily deployable. They also allow organizations, and agencies the flexibility of extending network protection to remote personnel’s endpoint devices.
It remains true that many components vital to SASE (Zero Trust, for example) are yet to fully gain traction. There is almost a consensus among IT security experts that this cloud-security trend will soon become the industry’s new standard. The technology in the world of cybersecurity is continuously changing and getting better. Thus, more and more security experts need to get familiar with the security access service edge.
Companies offering true SASE solutions are still growing. The growth comes with the promise of even better security offerings. The current global pandemic is ripe ground for SASE to fully grow into its own. This is because the number of remote workers continues to rise.
