SASE increases the maturity of IT security

From data center to cloud

The age of the classic safety perimeter is over. The traditional firewall is designed to protect the data center. Except that today, more than ever, we are using applications that are located outside that data center.

We use cloud services, where we connect from any location and with any device.

Sensitive business data is no longer located in the data center but spread across different clouds. This requires a completely different approach to security.

SASE makes it easier to implement better security controls. SASE increases the security maturity of a company.

Wouter Vandenbussche, Product Owner Cybersecurity Services at Proximus

Bundling network and security management

That is exactly what SASE does. The term is made up of two parts: ‘secure access’ and ‘service edge’. In other words, it is about secure access to business applications and data as a service at the edge of your security perimeter.

Or in other words: SASE allows us to deal securely with today's reality, in which cloud services are increasingly dominating the market. SASE combines the network and security management of these diverse environments – on-premise, private, and public cloud – in one practical overview.

Network and security in one ecosystem

“SASE is not a piece of technology,” says Kristof Spriet, Products & Solutions Manager at Proximus. “It's a concept that combines network and security. The combination of both elements leads to a higher level of security. All the logic is then located in one ecosystem.”

SASE encompasses the virtualization and convergence of network and security, performed through a service. Network and security are no longer two parallel islands. “This reduces the complexity of the whole. The IT department manages not two separate solutions but one joint solution.”

Kristof Spriet, Products & Solutions Manager at Proximus

Integration between SASE and apps

In the context of working from home, the use of cloud applications and the storage of data in various clouds, SASE ensures consistency in the security policy.

“There used to be a patchwork of policies spread across all these different environments,” says Wouter Vandenbussche, Product Owner Cybersecurity Services at Proximus. “SASE ensures a unified policy.” This is also an advantage on a purely technological level.

The integration between SASE and applications like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services allows you to extend the higher security level into the public cloud.

SASE: the best of SD-WAN and SSE

Companies that have recently invested in SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) or SSE (Secure Service Edge) are now taking the next step with SASE. “SD-WAN is focused on more efficient network management, SSE on more efficient security,” Kristof explains.

“SASE brings both elements together.” We should therefore not consider SASE as a completely new or different type of concept, but as a logical evolution that builds on the combination of SD-WAN and SSE. But again: one size fits all does not apply here.

What’s your take on SASE?

“You only come to the right solution by taking into account your concrete security exposure,” says Kristof.

“Proximus helps companies analyze their needs and then meets them with the right solutions – for example, through managed services.” In any case, it seems that SASE as an evolution is unstoppable.

“Companies that are less dependent on their own data center and already work a lot in the cloud are making the move to SASE faster today,” says Wouter. “Anyone who uses cloud software for invoicing, for example, or works with cloud cash registers in their stores.”

Better security is necessary

At the same time, everyday practice is also guiding companies towards SASE. “There is the operational reality,” says Wouter. “The number of cyber incidents is increasing.”

From this we can only deduce that a lot of companies have a false sense of security: they assume they are doing well, while in fact their environment is insufficiently protected. “It really has to be better,” says Kristof. “SASE helps achieve that goal.”

Legislation is also helping in this area. “There are directives in the pipeline that will oblige companies to take their cybersecurity seriously,” explains Wouter.

“SASE makes it easier to implement better security controls. We must see SASE as the lever that increases the security maturity of a company.”