SASE: The path to intelligence-led Secure Access Service Edge
27 May 2021
SASE explained: how Secure Access Service Edge improves security & performance
What is SASE?
A Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) framework merges networking and security functionalities into unified, cloud-based service at the edge of the network. This approach allows organizations to efficiently support a distrubuted workforce, including remote and hybrid users, by seamlessly connecting them to cloud gateways in proximity, rather than rerouting traffic through corporate data centers. It ensures uniform, secure access to applications, along with comprehensive traffic visibility and scrutiny accross all ports and protocols.
SASE significantly streamlines management and minimizes complexity, aligning with its core objectives. It redefines the network perimeter as a flexible suite of cloud-powered services, deployable as needed, offering a more cohesive solution compared to traditional perimeter defenses built around data centers with various standalone security devices.
Leveraging the cloud, SASE provides a dynamic, high-performance network that is responsive to shifting business needs, an ever-changing threat environment, and forthcoming innovations that will influence the network's future.
At its core, SASE combines two essential functionalities: network connectivity, known as SD-WAN, and network security, termed Security Service Edge (SSE). SD-WAN supports the evolution of the connectivity offering, moving more and more to business-grade Internet, while SSE unifies various security technologies into a single integrated platform. This is where we see a divergence in adoption strategies.
SASE is a broad, multi-faceted architecture. It takes well-established and well-known security concepts and restructures them into a unified and cloud-centric framework. This restructuring brings new complexities ranging from infrastructure, configuration and change management.
Download your copy of the report and explore the full narrative around the SASE 2.0 framework, the benefits, and the pitfalls to avoid.
SASE combines key network security functions such as secure web gateway, cloud access security broker, firewall-as-a-service, and zero trust to manage access to computing resources from anywhere at any time. It does this at scale by focusing on a user's identity rather than the device that they're using. It will make access decisions automatically in the cloud by combining that identity information with a panoply of other factors that describe a user's context.
It's a fascinating service proposition, but many have omitted a critical factor that is crucial to a well-rounded cybersecurity practice: cybersecurity intelligence.
Benefits of a SASE Architecture
Typically, at least 83% of enterprises have experienced more than one data breach, and the average cost of a data breach is now estimated at $4.35 million.
This is why the vast majority of enterprise organizations are planning or starting to implement modern cybersecurity policies and technologies based on elements of the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) framework.
In the post-digital economy, digital IT and Networks are recognised as critically pervasive across your entire organization, and so should your cybersecurity posture. This is not just because regulation compliance demands it but because all aspects of the modern data-driven, business enterprise depend on it.
The market reality today, where ‘people are the new perimeter’, indicates that historical cybersecurity ‘modus operandi’ is no longer sufficient. This is due to the growth of cloud-native solutions & SaaS adoption, an unrelenting explosion in enterprise data, a boundaryless digital work environment and an increasingly complex, AI-augmented threat landscape.
SASE is an organisational mindset shift that enables people to be your new perimeter, it is not a product. SASE unites networking and network security, offering secure access to all users from everywhere, to maximize the value and utility of cloud-native ecosystems. It is not simply a solution that companies can install and forget about.
It is a discipline that needs continuous monitoring, detection, and response driven by constantly evolving threat intelligence.
SASE components
1. Secure Web Gateway (SWG)
The SWG component acts as a guard for user web sessions, implementing URL filtering, SSL decryption, application control, and providing threat detection and prevention capabilities.
2. Firewall as a Service (FWaaS)
FWaaS represents a cloud-native, cutting-edge firewall solution. It offers comprehensive Layer 7 inspection, access control, alongside threat detection and prevention, among other security functionalities.
3. Cloud-Access Security Broker (CASB)
The CASB component manages both approved and unapproved SaaS applications, contributing to malware and threat detection. Integral to a Data Loss Prevention (DLP) strategy, it ensures that sensitive data within SaaS environments is both visible and under control.
4. Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)
ZTNA introduces continuous verification and scrutiny, focusing on identity-based and application-specific policy enforcement. This is essential for securing access to sensitive organizational data and applications.
5. SD-WAN
The SD-WAN technology offers a network overlay that is independent of the underlying infrastructure, facilitating secure and flexible traffic routing between locations and directly to the internet.
By integrating these components, the SASE framework provides organizations with a comprehensive, agile, and simplified approach to securing access across their networks, catering to the modern demands of remote and hybrid work environments.
SASE FAQs
A SASE solution integrates networking and security into a single, cloud-delivered service, aiming to provide secure and efficient network connectivity and access control across an organization’s resources.
In cybersecurity, SASE refers to a framework that merges network security functions like firewalls, secure web gateways, and zero-trust access into a unified cloud-based service to enhance security and simplify management.
SASE in networking combines network infrastructure services like SD-WAN with security services (e.g., CASB, SWG) within a single cloud platform to improve network efficiency and security for geographically dispersed organizations.
SASE stands for Secure Access Service Edge, indicating a cloud architecture model that integrates network and security solutions to ensure secure and agile access to enterprise resources, regardless of location.
SASE technology encompasses the tools and platforms that merge wide area networking (WAN) and network security services into a single, cloud-native service, providing comprehensive security and performance.
The goal of SASE is to enhance the efficiency and security of network access in enterprises, facilitating scalable, flexible access to organizational resources for any user, anywhere.
SASE is used to streamline network and security operations into a cloud service, reducing complexity and improving security for enterprises with distributed networks and a mobile workforce.
Unsure what works for you ? Try our SASE Buyer's guide
In the post-digital economy, IT and networks have become integral components spanning the entirety of an organization. Executive boards, C-suite leaders and business owners must now lead the SASE agenda and strategy, influencing the operating model and technology investment decisions.
SASE isn't merely a product; it represents a profound shift in organizational thinking. In essence, it makes people the new perimeter. By merging networking and security, SASE provides secure access for all users, regardless of location, maximizing the potential of cloud-native ecosystems. It's not a "Set & Forget" approach. Instead, SASE requires ongoing vigilance, powered by ever-evolving threat intelligence.
This SASE Buyer's Guide aims to assist organizations in evaluating their SASE readiness. By providing insights about your organization, through answering a few questions, the Buyer's Guide offers direction on where to begin, outlines potential service and vendor strategies and provides the essential steps to initiate your SASE journey.
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