Secure a Software-Defined Perimeter

Today, work-from-home (WFH) has evolved into work-from-anywhere (WFA), to the delight of employees and their employers alike. The benefits of this new work paradigm for employees include the flexibility to choose work hours, getting more work done in less time, and a decrease in work-related expenses, and of course a better work/life balance. For employers, the benefits include higher productivity, a larger talent pool from which to draw, increased job satisfaction, more engaged employees and a lower turnover rate, as well as significantly reduced overhead expense. (And by the way, happy employees lead to happy return customers.)

To take a step back, the evolution from an onsite work model, to the new paradigm of WFH or WFA, as well as hybrid, wasn’t without its challenges. Perhaps one of the biggest bumps along the way was figuring out how people could WFH not only productively, but securely. At the beginning of the transition, many organizations were forced to depend upon their virtual private networks (VPNs) for network access and security and then learned the hard way that VPNs were not up to the task. It became clear that VPNs were not designed nor intended for the way we work today. Both external and internal bad actors were and are still exploiting inherent vulnerabilities in VPNs. 

Instead, forward looking IT organizations have discovered the answer to the VPN dilemma. It is an innovative and highly reliable approach to networking connectivity — the Software Defined Perimeter (SDP). This approach enables organizations to build a secure software-defined perimeter and use Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) tunnels to seamlessly connect all applications, servers, IoT devices, and users behind any symmetric network address translation (NAT) to any full cone NAT: without having to reconfigure networks or set up complicated and problematic VPNs. With SDP, organizations can ensure safe, fast and easy network and data access while slamming the door on potential cybercriminals.

Don Boxley is CEO and co-founder of DH2i, speaking as part of a collaboration involving Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the National Cybersecurity Alliance to lead a collaborative effort between government and industry to raise cybersecurity awareness.