Richard Norman
Chief Technology Officer, Kerv Connect|Kerv
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Get in touchPublished 15/01/25 under:
How Has Security Evolved from the Castle and Moat Days?
Remember the good old days of “Castle and Moat” security? It was all about building a strong perimeter to keep the bad guys out and protect everything inside. We used to rely on a couple of different network security products to create layers of defence. But times have changed! Nowadays, users are working from all over the place, and data is scattered across public locations, SaaS platforms, and third-party clouds.
The Need for a New Security Approach
With this new landscape, we need a fresh approach to security. It’s not enough to just focus on Endpoint Protection (EPP). The network plays a crucial role in keeping your organisation safe. A recent report from a CISA red team review of a Critical National Infrastructure provider showed that relying too much on EPP and not having enough layered network security can leave you vulnerable to attacks. You could say EPP alone is just creating new smaller castle and moats around each of your endpoints.
The Critical Role of the Network
The network is like the backbone of your security setup. It connects all your endpoints and data, making it a central point for controlling application usage, monitoring traffic, and limiting data access. Here’s what the network can do for you:
- Orchestrate and control access to resources in physical office locations.
- Protect remote workers’ communications.
- Provide a secure gateway to data silos and the internet.
- Filter access to web-based applications.
- Control data transfers out of the organisation.
All of this can be managed through a single control plane, making it easier to maintain a holistic security process compared to platform-specific endpoint controls.
Modern solutions also use AI and Machine Learning to review traffic and behaviours, flagging potentially malicious activities. This creates automated workflows that help security teams identify and react to issues faster. Sometimes, remediation actions can even be automated, giving you a powerful tool in the fight against threats.
Key Focus Areas for Network Security
Here are the key components of a secure network:
- On-Demand Resource Allocation: Based on the identity and posture of the user and endpoint, enabling least privilege zero trust network access across LAN (both wired and wireless), remote and digital resource access.
- Access Controls: Implementing controls on North-South (public to private network) and East-West (private to private) network segments, ensuring traffic can only pass if explicitly allowed by a policy.
- Data Encryption: Ensuring robust encryption of all data in transit across any network not verified as secure.
- Data Loss Prevention: Applying DLP or Cloud Access Security Broker processes to control loss of corporate dataacross, SaaS, AI tools & web.
How Connect Can Help
At Kerv, we get your business, how your users work, and what data silos you need to protect. We implement solutions that keep your business’s security and data safe while maintaining availability and user experience. We do this by deploying solutions from our tried and tested technology toolkit, tailored to deliver the right outcomes for your business.
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