As the remote workforce gets more common, the need for network security solutions becomes more crucial for businesses of each size. Providing secure access to your company network is the most essential step you should take if you have employees working remotely. But which network security solution you should choose is another question.
Even if there are different types of network security solutions, what you should look for is an easy to implement, cost-efficient, and effective solution. For that, a good Secure Access Service Edge – SASE solution can provide businesses with what they look for. This technology does not only help you with security but also helps you with expenses for network security.
In this article, we will take a look at how SASE works, how it helps you with network security, and why your small business needs it. Let’s get started.
What is SASE and How It Works
SASE is a cloud-based security model which uses a technology called software-defined networking. The technology SASE uses helps organizations manage their networking with the software while combining it with network security solutions. This enables companies to control their network from a single platform.
Since it employs cloud technology’s extensive connection to integrate SD-WAN with network security functions such as FaaS, SaaS, secure web gateways, CASBs, and ZTNA most of the time SASE does not require hardware. Let’s take a look at the core components of SASE.
Software-defined Wide Area Network — SD-WAN
SD-WAN lays the groundwork for a SASE solution, allowing for better network routing and performance. SD-WAN is a more cost-effective alternative to MPLS and an agile and trustworthy alternative to Internet-based VPN. SD-WAN includes traffic routing from anywhere, globally distributed gateways, secure traffic, and inline encryption.
Firewall as a Service — FWaaS
FaaS is a cloud firewall that provides powerful next-generation firewall (NGFW) features, such as URL filtering, threat prevention, intrusion prevention systems — IPS, and DNS security. Read more to learn how FWaaS is used under a SASE architecture.
Software as a Service — SaaS
Software as a Service — SaaS is a method of providing programs as a service through the Internet. Instead of installing and maintaining software, you just use the Internet to access it, liberating yourself from the hassles of software and device maintenance.
Secure Web Gateways
By enforcing enterprise security regulations and filtering harmful traffic in real-time, an SWG protects web-surfing users and devices against infection and online security concerns. Secure Web Gateway includes URL filtering, data loss, and leak prevention, malicious-code detection, and remote browser isolation.
Cloud Access Security Broker — CASB
A cloud access security broker (CASB) combines different forms of security policy enforcement and applies them to everything your company uses in the cloud—regardless of which device people access it from, such as unmanaged cell phones or personal computers.
This enables businesses to utilize the cloud safely without jeopardizing their company data—a critical requirement for businesses undertaking digital transformation and operating in both legacy and cloud environments.
Zero Trust Network Access — ZTNA
ZTNA is a perfect fit for SASE since it allows for granular authentication of users to apps. ZTNA is also a stable and resilient component of a SASE security posture since it is intended to react to business changes.
How does SASE Help with Network Security?
A SASE architecture can recognize individuals and devices, implement policy-based security rules, and provide safe access to the desired applications or data. SASE allows for secure access to individuals, data, applications, and devices regardless of their location.
The cloud edge, not the corporate data center, is where SASE sets network controls. SASE simplifies network and security services to provide a secure network edge, rather than stacking cloud services that require separate configuration and maintenance.
Enterprises may extend their network perimeter to every distant user, branch office, device, or application by implementing identity-based, Zero Trust access restrictions on the edge network. SASE allows companies to block attacks against network infrastructure and prevents malicious activity.
Why Do Small Businesses Need SASE?
Since Bring Your Own Device policies and remote cloud access increase the attack surface of companies, a cost-efficient and effective network security solution like SASE may be the best option for small businesses. Small businesses can simply add essential services using cloud-delivered SASE.
You do not need to buy, configure, install, or maintain any equipment when you need extra layer security. For company needs, unmanaged user devices are quickly protected. Low-cost enablers include cloud-delivered SASE features and per-user charges.
SASE helps companies with the following ways for network and security:
Flexibility
Since SASE is a single service, businesses need fewer vendors to deal with, less hardware needed, and almost no maintenance, update, or troubleshooting is necessary. The SASE option also streamlines and centralizes the whole networking and security management process.
If malware is found in the environment, for example, the SASE solution may address it from a centralized interface and distribute the repair throughout the whole environment.
Cost Savings
Due to its Security as a Service concept, it eliminates capital expenditures for on-premises infrastructure and delivers cheaper and predictable operating expenses. Using a single platform instead of buying and administering several-point products will drastically cut your expenses and IT resources.
Because the service is cloud-based, you won’t have to pay for capacity you don’t need, and you can ditch your pricey MPLS networks that connect branch offices to data centers in favor of a software-based alternative.
Reduced Complexity
By unifying your security stack into a cloud-based network security service model, you may simplify your IT infrastructure by reducing the number of security products your IT staff needs to manage, update, and maintain.
Increased Performance
SASE improves and speeds up access to internet resources by utilizing a worldwide network architecture that is tuned for low latency, high capacity, and high availability. You may simply connect to resources located everywhere using cloud infrastructure. Apps, the internet, and company data are all accessible from anywhere in the world.
Final Words
Because digitalization and remote work are here to stay, businesses must develop a network and security posture that can support distant users and a distributed workforce. SASE presents a cloud-based, dynamic, and completely integrated vision for the future of network security.
0 comments