What is Secure Access Service Edge in Cybersecurity?

The digital transformation of businesses around the world has accelerated significantly in recent years. With the spread of digitalization, there is a very high increase in the number of threats in businesses due to the deficiencies in traditional network security technology. This indicates that stronger measures are needed for data security and network protection.

With the emergence of Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) as one of these measures, network and security professionals aim to adapt to the distributed nature of users and data. According to a recent global survey, 19 percent of respondents are planning to deploy SASE in the next twelve months to obtain high security.  

SASE stands out as a security approach combined with cloud services that distribute traffic faster than traditional network services. Before deploying SASE in your business, you should understand SASE capabilities. To use SASE consistently and implement it strategically, it would be beneficial to get more information about SASE.

What Is Secure Access Service Edge?

Expected to be an essential part of enterprise network systems, SASE is an advanced network solution that offers superior performance and the highest security at an affordable cost. SASE also refers to the process of combining SD-WAN with VPN and in this way, they both run as a cloud service at the source.

The unified SASE platform aims to:  

• Reduce complexity and costs.
• Prevent data loss wherever data is used, from the edge to the cloud.
• Meet the instant and uninterrupted service demands of its customers.
• Protect employees from advanced threats with cloud-based SASE wherever they are.
  

SASE runs organisations' network and security functions closer to the endpoints and puts the cloud at the center of the network with cloud-built security tools. At the heart of the SASE platform, there is a data protection solution that gives you unmatched control over many aspects of your data and ensures uniform connectivity and protection from anywhere so you can work from anywhere.

SASE provides a distributed workforce with secure remote access to cloud resources. It's easy to gain quickness, mobility, reduced complexity, and expense reduction by applying SASE to your business. 

What Are the Main Components of SASE?

SASE combines multiple solutions and five key components at the center of its capabilities. These components are as follows:

Secure Web Gateways | SWGs:

Secure Web Gateways protect against malicious web-based software on SASE networks. Filters unwanted malware from network traffic and enforces corporate policy compliance. In addition, web-based applications are also regularly monitored by SWG solutions.

Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA):

Zero Trust Network Access offers secure remote access to any data or application. Unlike standard VPN solutions, it makes it possible to assign privileges and authorizations to users and devices. It works with the motto "Never trust, always verify".  

ZTNA maximizes security by subjecting devices and users accessing the network to authentication processes based on location, identity, and other criteria through advanced authentication protocols that can be replicated.

Cloud-Native Architecture:

Cloud-Native Architecture works with WAN architecture with a combination of network security functions. It offers extensive scalability and flexibility. Cloud-based services can be easily tailored to user and company needs and requirements. You can build a secure infrastructure for location, mobile devices, edge computing solutions, IoT technologies, cloud data centers, and more.

Firewall as a Service:

Firewall as a Service acts as a comprehensive intrusion prevention system for online businesses much more efficiently than a physical firewall. FWaaS can be adapted to any network and need thanks to cloud technologies.

Data Loss Protection:

Data Loss Protection can be defined as a data loss protection engine integrated into the SASE architecture. DLP makes it easy to track by providing visibility into data in use, in motion, and at rest. It can protect confidential data and important activities. This protection may require encryption. It can send network security alerts to minimize the overall risk of any security and data breach.

Why Is SASE Necessary for Businesses?

As more businesses rely on cloud-based applications, and especially with more people working remotely, well-set security approaches have become necessary. To achieve the highest level of efficiency, these security approaches must work together.  

SASE provides many benefits to businesses in terms of security approaches. It implements full security protocols on every access from any place or device. Identity-based security protocols can scale to meet specific business needs, allowing only authorized users and devices to access data.  

SASE is a very convenient, easy-to-manage, and holistic platform for companies to connect with their employees anywhere in the world. Since it carries out all its activities in the network in a completely transparent manner, it can be monitored continuously. Offering single-screen management, SASE solutions significantly simplify implementation and control processes.

Conclusion

Since legacy security solutions do not provide the agility, flexibility, connectivity, and security required in digital networking, a cloud-based security solution where everything is connected is more beneficial for businesses.  

The ability to design network and security architectures up-to-date and implement a SASE suitable for your business provides significant benefits. It will positively impact business success in matters such as employee productivity, financial costs, security, and customer satisfaction within the business.