One Step Further: The Enterprise Data Landscape Has Changed, and Remote User Security Should Too
As a follow up to the primer on Remote User Security, there is another dimension to consider in the threat landscape today: primary corporate servers providing the applications and storage which employees must access are rapidly moving out of corporate HQs and self-hosted/collocated Data Centers and into Cloud Service Provider networks, especially AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. Because of this as well as advances in software defined networking technology, traditional remote access VPNs no longer provide the most advanced secure access to the workloads the employees need to get the job done. If employees are not accessing corporate locations, who is providing the security for the solution? Cloud-based security adds an essential feature that will bolster network security and minimize the cyber risk of remote and hybrid employees when implemented as part of a holistic solution.
Secure Web Gateway, Cloud Firewall, Zero Trust Network Access, and Cloud Access Security Broker are all components that should be considered to ensure a cohesive secure networking policy for all your hybrid employees. These are four components of what is now known as the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) model which can address modernizing all elements of enterprise network and security. While changing the entire infrastructure at once could appear a severely daunting task, starting the journey by updating and mapping out a new approach focused on remote workers is a strong strategic step to move towards a more secure, modern architecture. Single vendors can assist with one or many elements of SASE, but multi-vendor is also distinctly possible for this sort of incremental migration.
For assistance evaluating the single-vendor and multi-vendor landscape in the SASE market, and understanding how companies are commonly replacing traditional remote access VPN technologies as part of the SASE model, reach out to ChoiceTel to start formulating the answer to “what’s next?”