How does the new way of working impact network security strategies?

Tom Major at GTT argues that maintaining a good end-user experience should be central to any security initiatives designed to address hybrid working

The last two years have changed how many people work, and surveys found that two-thirds of people around the world want to continue working flexibly post-COVID.

However, this flexibility comes with a technological implication as our dependency on all things digital has increased our vulnerability to cyber attacks. Simultaneously, the hosting of applications is migrating from the corporate data centre to the cloud.

In this enterprise environment, where digital business and cloud applications have become more critical to achieving business success and a distributed workforce is more common, enterprises need robust and comprehensive security solutions to protect against the expanded attack surface and increased risk of a security breach.

Yet industry research firm Omdia estimates that only 15% of enterprises have a fully developed approach to cyber-security and digital risk.

So, what does this mean for the C-suite? Simply put – no one can afford to be cyber complacent when it comes to their networking strategy, not when cyber crimes will cost companies worldwide an estimated $10.5 trillion annually by 2025.

Leaders need to review their network security strategies to secure the ever-expanding perimeter of their estate while also ensuring a seamless, satisfactory user experience.

Where security meets exceptional employee experience

Firewalls alone protecting the network perimeter are no longer sufficient because the new corporate perimeter is everywhere, and is increasingly based on identity rather than geography.

More enterprises are adopting the Zero Trust approach, where access to data and applications is granted on the basis that each individual user should only be given access when explicitly authenticated and authorized.

However, security needs to go hand-in-hand with an employee-friendly experience to ensure maximum productivity.

Key questions that the core security team needs to ask themselves when it comes to their security and networking strategies include: “How are my users operating? How are my suppliers and partners operating within my infrastructure? How are my customers interacting with my users? Do they feel safe doing that? Do they feel efficient? And is it a good experience?”

A SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) framework addresses the growing requirement for simple, flexible, and secure access to enterprise resources in an environment characterized by the widespread use of digital technologies, broad adoption of cloud applications and a remote workforce.

If implemented correctly, the integration of software-defined networking and cloud-based security reduces complexity, while also providing the ability to set and automate network and security policy – including secure, individualised, accelerated access to the cloud resources companies are increasingly relying on.

The secure and seamless way forward

According to Gartner, by 2025, 60% of enterprises or more will have implemented strategies and timelines for the adoption of the SASE framework, including for user, branch and edge access. As business security teams look to roll out this new approach, they’ll need to continue working as both enablers and protectors of exceptional digital experiences.

To complement pervasive cloud adoption, they should look for software-defined networking integrated with cloud delivery models with critical functionalities such as Zero Trust Network Access which creates synergies between connectivity and security and supports centralized policy control at a site and user level.

This will ensure better scalability and will enable enterprises to extend the protected security perimeter to any network endpoint, particularly as the traditional corporate network boundaries continue to be challenged by the evolving ways we work.

Tom Major is VP Solution Consulting at GTT

This article was originally published on teiss.co.uk. Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com