What are SASE Products?

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is an emerging security model that dramatically improves how organizations protect people and data. SASE products are an integrated collection of network and security technologies that provide secure access to workers, no matter where they are.

SASE converges networking and security functions in a single cloud-delivered service model that replaces a patchwork of point products. Most businesses deploy SASE products that include Software-Defined Networking (SD-WAN), a Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB), Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), and a Secure Web Gateway (SWG). 

Ultimately, SASE products extend networking and security functions wherever end users need them, supporting the hybrid workforce and enabling distributed organizations to work more safely and productively.
 

Organizations in every industry are rapidly adopting SASE technology for one simple reason: traditional security models are no longer adequate for today’s modern, cloud-focused computing environments. 

IT networks have become highly distributed, combining multi-cloud and hybrid cloud infrastructure with SaaS applications and traditional data centers. At the same time, workforces are also more distributed, with many employees working from home or outside the office. 

The traditional “moat and castle” approach to security can’t adequately protect users, data, IT assets or the enterprise in this perimeter-less world. Using disparate legacy products to connect remote workers securely costs too much, increases latency, drains IT teams of resources and creates too many holes for attackers.

The SASE model provides a unified, cloud-delivered security solution that pushes security to the edge. By embedding security into the network fabric, SASE makes security available no matter where the user is, how they connect to the network or what application or resource they are accessing. 

By centralizing security administration, SASE products reduce effort and complexity for security teams and provide central visibility and control over how data is accessed and used. With SASE, VPN technology and disparate point solutions are no longer needed.

Because SASE is an approach to security rather than a blueprint, many formulas exist for deploying SASE Products. However, most SASE frameworks incorporate several essential components.

• Software-Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN) manages and routes traffic across a vast area network more efficiently and cost-effectively. By creating an overlay that virtualizes the management of network connections, SD-WAN solutions enable organizations to use multiple connections for wide-area networking, including low-cost commodity connections like DSL and fiber. As a result, network teams can retire legacy network and security equipment, using SD-WAN to simplify operations, reduce costs and simplify the management and orchestration of WAN infrastructure.
• Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) is a cloud-based technology that enforces security policies as users access cloud-based resources. CASBs facilitate authentication, single sign-on, authorization, credential mapping, encryption, tokenization, device profiling, malware detection and more.
• Secure Web Gateway (SWG) technology offers protection against web-based threats and applies and enforces an organization’s acceptable use policies. SWGs provide URL filtering, malicious content inspection, access control, visibility and other security functions. 
• Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) secures remote access connections by continuously authenticating and validating users and devices. Rather than granting access to large portions of the network for an undetermined period, ZTNA solutions only give access to the resources a user or device needs now. This approach to remote access reduces the attack surface, improves security posture and neutralizes lateral movement attacks.

When deploying a SASE service, choosing a single vendor over multiple SASE providers offers key benefits to organizations and their security teams.

• Less complexity. Implementing and managing SASE products from a single vendor shields security teams from the complexity of coordinating disparate individual solutions from multiple providers.
• Consistent policy. A unified SASE platform ensures that organizations can manage security and enforce compliance with security policies issued from a single source, improving the organization’s security posture.
• Greater scalability. With a single vendor, organizations can scale SASE products more easily to accommodate rapid growth and new business requirements.
• Comprehensive visibility. Single-vendor deployments enable security teams to manage SASE products from a single pane of glass, increasing visibility and enhancing security preparedness.
• Better user experiences. Single-vendor SASE solutions ensure a more predictable user experience across locations and IT environments.

Forcepoint provides a single-vendor SASE solution that allows distributed businesses and government agencies to protect their hybrid workforces with a wide range of centrally managed networking and security solutions. 

With unified SASE products from Forcepoint, security teams can avoid the burdens, inefficiencies and risks that come with piecing together a patchwork of point products and dealing with multiple vendors.

Forcepoint’s Data-First SASE products build advanced data security into adaptive-access gateways, and intelligently distribute enforcement of security policies based on where each user is working. With SASE products from Forcepoint, organizations can:

• Seamlessly control access with Forcepoint ONE ZTNA, CASB, and SWG.
• Simplify compliance with pre-defined libraries of DLP policies.
• Prevent attacks with advanced threat protection and Forcepoint Remote Browser Isolation (RBI) with Content Disarm & Reconstruction (CDR).
• Set and manage security policies from one place, consistently applying the same policies wherever employees are working.
• Push enforcement close to the user for faster web access.
• Protect people and data everywhere with global availability and 99.99 percent uptime.