K
Kathleen Martin
Guest
More organizations are turning their eyes to edge computing as cloud adoption reaches new heights. Experts predict there will be 55 billion edge devices by 2022 as latency and resilience demands grow and 5G makes these networks possible. While this growth is impressive, it raises several security concerns.
Edge computing expands attack surfaces, and data centers lack the resources of traditional cloud infrastructure. If security approaches don’t shift to meet these new challenges, the edge may bring more risks than value.
Here are six ways companies can improve their security as companies prepare to expand their edge environments in 2022.
1. Zero-Trust Architecture
Another way edge environments can ensure security by design is to embrace a zero-trust approach. While many think of zero trust as a method of restricting user access, it applies to devices, too. Each edge device should only have access to what it absolutely needs, and even then, authenticate its identity before access.
Edge environments are too complex and full of endpoints to trust any network request. Implementing zero-trust security will ensure one endpoint doesn’t jeopardize the rest of the network. Zero-trust architecture also works well with SASE, as SASE provides the context necessary for situational authorization.
2. SASE
One of the most important security upgrades is secure access service edge (SASE) architecture. SASE brings wide-area networking (WAN) and network security services into a single cloud solution. This convergence gives organizations more transparency and control over their operations, which is essential for edge security.
Monitoring edge networks can be challenging given their distributed, endpoint-heavy nature. SASE makes it easier to look into and control these networks by reducing complexity and automating background security tasks. As IT sprawl rises and edge environments become increasingly complex, that benefit will become difficult to overlook.
Fewer than 1% of organizations had SASE strategies as of 2018, but Gartner predicts that figure to rise to 40% by 2024. As edge computing becomes more common, it may have to grow faster still.
3. Distributed Resiliency
Part of reliable cybersecurity is ensuring a network can continue functioning when a disruption occurs. Traditional data centers can ensure this resiliency through redundant on-premises infrastructure, but this isn’t an option for edge computing. That’s why nine out of 10 edge data center owners say that network-based distributed resiliency will become common in the next few years.
Distributed resiliency involves replicating data across multiple sites. That way, if one edge data center experiences disruption, the network can shift the workload to another center or across several. This setup lets these facilities mitigate disruptions and downtime without increasing their physical infrastructure.
Continue reading: https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/security-data-protection/cloud/improving-edge-computing-security/
Edge computing expands attack surfaces, and data centers lack the resources of traditional cloud infrastructure. If security approaches don’t shift to meet these new challenges, the edge may bring more risks than value.
Here are six ways companies can improve their security as companies prepare to expand their edge environments in 2022.
1. Zero-Trust Architecture
Another way edge environments can ensure security by design is to embrace a zero-trust approach. While many think of zero trust as a method of restricting user access, it applies to devices, too. Each edge device should only have access to what it absolutely needs, and even then, authenticate its identity before access.
Edge environments are too complex and full of endpoints to trust any network request. Implementing zero-trust security will ensure one endpoint doesn’t jeopardize the rest of the network. Zero-trust architecture also works well with SASE, as SASE provides the context necessary for situational authorization.
2. SASE
One of the most important security upgrades is secure access service edge (SASE) architecture. SASE brings wide-area networking (WAN) and network security services into a single cloud solution. This convergence gives organizations more transparency and control over their operations, which is essential for edge security.
Monitoring edge networks can be challenging given their distributed, endpoint-heavy nature. SASE makes it easier to look into and control these networks by reducing complexity and automating background security tasks. As IT sprawl rises and edge environments become increasingly complex, that benefit will become difficult to overlook.
Fewer than 1% of organizations had SASE strategies as of 2018, but Gartner predicts that figure to rise to 40% by 2024. As edge computing becomes more common, it may have to grow faster still.
3. Distributed Resiliency
Part of reliable cybersecurity is ensuring a network can continue functioning when a disruption occurs. Traditional data centers can ensure this resiliency through redundant on-premises infrastructure, but this isn’t an option for edge computing. That’s why nine out of 10 edge data center owners say that network-based distributed resiliency will become common in the next few years.
Distributed resiliency involves replicating data across multiple sites. That way, if one edge data center experiences disruption, the network can shift the workload to another center or across several. This setup lets these facilities mitigate disruptions and downtime without increasing their physical infrastructure.
Continue reading: https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/security-data-protection/cloud/improving-edge-computing-security/
