As more and more users work remotely, they need access to applications and resources quickly. They also demand that companies protect them from cyberattacks.
SASE security combines networking and security functions into one solution delivered as a service. Learn how it works, its benefits, use cases, ideal candidates, and what to look for in a SASE solution.
Access to Applications and Data
A key benefit of SASE is scalability. Businesses can easily add or remove security functions from a network based on the needs of their remote workforce and applications, allowing for greater flexibility without investing in expensive hardware devices that require ongoing maintenance and updates.
With SASE, your remote team can connect to a SASE point of presence (POP) or network gateway at the edge of their company’s networks in the exact locations as SD-WAN devices and use the identity-driven security and route optimization features that SASE offers. This approach eliminates the need for multiple-point solutions. It enables your teams to work as they always have while providing increased access, better security, reduced latency, and a consistent experience.
The SASE architecture authenticates users and their devices as they enter a secure session, ensuring that security and connectivity policies are constantly applied in real-time based on risk context. As a result, zero trust and least-privileged access are constantly in effect to prevent data breaches that would otherwise bypass traditional network controls.
In addition, SASE combines networking and security functions into a single solution delivered as-a-service over the cloud, eliminating the need to deploy and manage multiple-point solutions and reducing operational overheads. This also frees up your network resources for other uses, including improving performance and reducing latency to critical applications for your remote workforce.
Enhanced Security
As work-from-anywhere initiatives accelerate, security teams must protect remote workers from cyber threats. Unfortunately, many traditional security solutions were designed for central networks and didn’t scale well for remote and hybrid work models. SASE security solves this challenge by merging networking and security functions into a single, cloud-delivered architecture. It reduces complexity, operational costs, and time to resolution for both networks and security services.
From a security standpoint, the SASE model eliminates the need for WAN gear on-site, including VPN concentrators and dedicated remote access portals. Instead, the user or site connects to the nearest SASE Point of Presence (PoP) using a simple broadband Internet service link or the device’s direct Internet access (DIA). The SASE security platform, including web gateways and next-generation firewalls, delivers secure connectivity to corporate resources without compromising application performance.
SASE also provides enhanced security for users at the edge of the network. SWGs and NGFWs extend protection from the corporate network to the furthest edges of the distributed infrastructure with features like SSL/TLS inspection that protect sensitive data in transit. It’s a critical step in preventing data leakage, especially with the increased adoption of SaaS and IaaS applications in remote locations where corporate data is not under physical control.
Finally, SASE security includes CASB services that monitor remote and mobile devices for compliance with corporate policy and DLP features that guard against accidental or intentional data loss. Combined with a robust and highly scalable SD-WAN architecture, this comprehensive suite of network and security services ensures that remote workers have the productivity tools they need to meet their business requirements.
Increased Flexibility
With the pronounced (and likely permanent) shift to remote work, many agencies have a new priority: enabling employees to access company applications, systems, and data wherever they work. This puts a premium on network performance and security.
Instead of routing all traffic back to the enterprise headquarters, SASE security enables remote workers to connect directly to cloud apps and services. This reduces latency, increases speed, and enables a higher-quality user experience. At the same time, SASE security protects these connections by combining network and application optimization functions such as firewalls, caching, compression algorithms, and more.
When a worker attempts to access the company network, a SASE solution analyzes the request and determines if it is authorized per an organization’s security policy. This is done in real-time and without bogging down the information flow with multiple layers of authentication.
A key benefit of SASE is that it provides granular visibility into systems and users and their interactions with the corporate network. This is a core feature of zero-trust networks. SASE can enable a faster, more secure, more straightforward, and more flexible IT infrastructure than traditional SD-WAN and point solutions such as proxies, firewalls, and data loss prevention.
Enhanced Productivity
The flexibility offered by SASE security allows organizations to let remote workers use the applications they need. This improves workflow. However, organizations must ensure that SASE security delivers performance and scalability. Slow systems or security functions create friction for users trying to find workarounds, potentially exposing the organization to risk.
SASE security leverages SD-WAN to deliver a seamless user experience with optimized connectivity and comprehensive security. It does this by deploying security close to devices and applications using cloud gateways in locations where users are located. This approach eliminates needing to backhaul traffic to data centers or private networks for inspection. It allows security controls to be implemented locally on edge devices, including firewalls and CASBs.
This approach to networking reduces latency by eliminating the need for traffic to travel long distances. It increases security by ensuring that only authorized traffic can traverse the network. Leading SASE services also provide advanced capabilities, such as SSL/TLS inspection and secure encryption, to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks, spoofing, rerouting, and other threats.
The tight integration of networking and security in SASE tools also reduces complexity for administrators by allowing them to manage access and security from a single point. This helps to reduce configuration errors and provides consistency of security policies across the network, boosting overall operational agility.