Rising Trends In Cyber Security: SASE And Zero Trust

As technology advances daily, digital threats are on the rise as attackers online become more complex in their approach, taking advantage of the different technological innovations such as machine learning and artificial intelligence to indulge in attacks. 

Photo by Max Duzij on Unsplash

Cyber attacks adopting artificial intelligence have made it urgent for organizations to keep improving the level of security and compliance required to conquer such cyber security risks.

It has also forced enterprises to employ more advanced measures for cyber security protection that can incorporate their entire business systems, processes, and services, such as a decentralized identity system – the linked article explores decentralized identity vs centralized identity.

Cyber-security risk is also sensitive to the administration and management of business data and customer privacy. Therefore, tech authorities and organizations must always have their software updated with the latest security patches to stay ahead and be free of cyber attacks. Hence, managers must constantly learn about risk and safety. 

SASE Defined

A Secure Access Service Edge architecture incorporates security and networking while offering direct but protected access to users regardless of location. It is a network security model designed to convey network technologies and security tools in a cloud-based service package to offer fast and secure access to network resources. 

It provides complete SD-WAN and Secure Service Edge (SSE) capabilities that take advantage of the power of the cloud to advance the network and security experience.

Zero Trust Defined

Zero trust is a structure for security in which users of a network, software, application, or system within or outside of an organization must be verified, authenticated, and constantly validated before being granted access to the resources within the company’s network.

Before the advent of zero-trust, it was assumed that the security architecture could trust anyone and anything on the premises of a business. Still, as work environments shifted toward “remote working”, migration to the cloud accelerated, and it became tougher to monitor what or who was coming in and out of the security ecosystem.

Under this framework, it is assumed that no devices or users are to be trusted with access without meeting the relevant validation requirements. The networks can be in hybrid, cloud, or on-premise with employees, notwithstanding their location.

Zero trust security helps ensure that data and infrastructure are kept safe so that more modern enterprises' challenges are appropriately handled.  Ransomware attacks and threats are increasing, and the implementation of zero trust can detect these threats before they cause harm.

Just like human security at an office building requires seeing the ID and badge of every employee as they arrive at work before getting access into the building, so also a multifactor authentication is required for users to access their work applications and emails each time they log in.

So, in a nutshell, the concept focuses on a strict approach of “trust no one,” ensuring that users that need access to a specific organization’s resources are granted.

SASE And Zero Trust Work Better Together

Some business organizations have adopted these two security structures, while others follow suit because they realize the efficiency of these combinations since it implies having their core principles intertwined which adequately complement each other.

SASE and ZTNA are not competing or separate network security models; instead, ZTNA is a segment of the entire SASE architecture.

However, while zero-trust implementation may aim at a short- to medium-term for network architects, SASE is a long-term objective. Therefore, organizations may choose to buy the SASE approach today and then move to gradually evolve their network security stacks toward the strategy.

This may require a longer time because designers advance to substitute outdated security technologies with more advanced ones. Note that moving to the SASE model will require enabling a zero-trust approach to network security.

Modern cybersecurity professionals conclude that both SASE and zero trust are trends to observe closely and incorporate into architectural decisions. Businesses should take deliberate steps to adopt a zero-trust approach in the short term to improve the secure access of remote employees on-premises and cloud-based.

With zero trust and SASE, combined businesses can have their policies firmly enforced across their entire network, resulting in stronger network security.

A combination of SASE and ZTNA  will help organizations minimize the risk of data breaches, reducing threats of attack on the surface. Businesses will be able to establish a stronger cybersecurity perimeter that makes it difficult for malicious individuals to penetrate. This helps ensure authorized devices and users access sensitive systems and data.

Benefits Of SASE And Zero Trust

One of the key benefits of SASE and Zero trust is an identity-driven default-deny approach that greatly improves the security posture so much that when a malicious user compromises a network asset, zero-trust network access can minimize the damage done. 

In addition, SASE security services can launch a standard of normal network behavior, which activates a more dynamic approach to network security in general, especially threat detection.  

It provides a cloud-native solution that works well for all network edges. This implies that branch offices, cloud services, IoT, mobile users, and corporate networks receive the same level of security without increasing deployment cost or complexity.

Typical SASE Adoption Errors 

As a result of the implementation process of the SASE framework, companies can make mistakes. These are the common ones to consider:

• Dismissing Core Requirements of the SASE Architecture. The key aspects of the SASE architecture include CASB, SD-WAN, FWaaS, SWG, and ZTNA. Also, consider alternatives such as remote browser isolation (RBI), domain name system (DNS) protection, and software-defined perimeter (SDP).
• Inaccurate Reviews of Company Needs. It is crucial to evaluate existing security measures and assess other required solutions.

Conclusion

The cloud-based SASE security model is accepted as a highly effective approach to securing an organization as strategic moves are made to the hybrid and perimeter-less networks. But to achieve this securely and safely, you must apply zero-trust security solutions that offer upgraded protection for a business’ devices, users, networks, and applications without interrupting the user experience.

This blog clarifies the security experience, guides you on your SASE journey, and enables you to transit safely and effortlessly to a SASE cloud-delivered architecture.