Businesses need to invest in refined resources in order the guarantee the security of their operations. Read the article to find out how to keep the SD-WAN secure!
With the Digital Transformation in frank acceleration, companies have looked to implement innovating tools, such as SD-WAN solutions (Software-Defined Wide Area Network).
They allow business divisions and remote users to have a unified connective experience. Which is a strong asset, since the covid-19 pandemic has brought an extensive necessity of keeping coworkers connected anywhere and anytime.
SD-WAN is an advanced technology, innovative and intelligent, capable of transforming business resources using the corporate WAN and, consequently, multi-cloud connectivity.
The purpose of this technology is delivering high speed performance to border WAN applications in branches, as well as optimizing processes, simplifying tasks and much more, by means of a dynamic selection of paths.
SD-WAN solutions are considered increasingly necessary alternatives, as corporations look for quicker, more flexible connectivity between different network environments.
Additionally, SD-WAN also reduces the total cost of ownership (TCO), preserving the user experience.
Meanwhile, despite its unique features, just like any other technology in ongoing evolution, SD-WAN solutions are not devoid of security challenges.
According to a research conducted by Gartner, 72% of businesses see security as one of their top priorities when it comes to SD-WAN implementation.
In the midst of this challenge, the lack of embedded security tools in most SD-WAN solutions means businesses must build their own defense strategies.
In this case, which are the best ways to keep SD-WAN solutions really secure? To find out, keep reading the content below:
Six ways of keeping SD-WAN solutions secure
1. Establish more comprehensive strategies
Before anything else, instead of deploying two different WAN solutions (one for connectivity and another for security), businesses need to consider creating an integrated strategy.
This way, businesses can leverage superior security capacity and network connectivity in a single system, in a quick, useful and flexible manner.
Through this strategy is possible to assure the data protection will automatically adapt to any network changes, since they will belong to one same control system.
Thusly, policies can be managed, perfected and orchestrated based on the same integrated management control.
Meanwhile, configuration conflicts can also be identified and approached automatically, in compliance with regulatory requirements encompassing network connections and security.
2. Investing in integrated solutions
A big part of SD-WAN solutions are not free of security risks, which is why, to be successful in the adoption of this technology, it's necessary to invest in integrated security.
Given the high scalability of the SD-WAN and that the implementation of an overlapping security upkeep is more expensive, without the integrated solutions, businesses may suffer delays in relation to changes in connectivity, leaving them more vulnerable.
Integrated systems offer SD-WAN connectivity, traffic management functionalities, and advanced security features as a unique and unified solution.
3. Counting with advanced cryptography
As a consequence of the substantial increase in the number of devices connected to SaaS applications, many broadband links connected to the main network are managed day by day.
Therefore, connections increase network vulnerability, leaving doors open for virtual threats to get in and take advantage of integrated information.
Taking these aspects into account, SD-WAN solutions have high mobility and several resources to assure corporate data will be only accessed by those with proper authorization.
Therefore, VPN solutions that increase corporate data protection are becoming, more and more, essential to any organization.
4. Using a firewall to protect the network
Another way of keeping the SD-WAN safe is by adopting solutions associated to a firewall, that maintains ongoing monitoring over the communication channels.
This way, organizations may adopt actions, resources and tools that avoid losses, cyberattacks and trespassers, besides optimizing the quality of their transmissions.
5. Monitoring a high volume of encrypted traffic
Due to the high rates of encrypted traffic, many cybercriminals manage to slip into encrypted paths, making it difficult to spot virtual threats.
Therefore, investing in basic security resources is not enough. Organizations need high performance NGFW in order to inspect traffic at network speeds, assuring a better control over the information.
6. Assuring connections and apps are verified
Organizations need to assure SaaS applications and connections get verified, as well as the methods need to get assessed and traffic carefully inspected.
Besides, with appropriately secured connectivity, it must also be capable of effectively adapting and sticking to dynamic changes in the network.
Consequentially, all SD-WAN solutions must include security resources at the corporate level, hand in hand with anti-malware, IPS and other protection methods.
In conclusion, SD-WAN tends to be a key piece in the Digital Transformation, positively affecting businesses, if properly implemented, with all the necessary security resources in order to protect data, processes and other information.
It's indispensable to invest in integrated alternatives in order to ease, streamline and complement the existing SD-WAN architecture. That way, organizations can leverage everything this technological solution has to offer, with no concerns.
