Enhancing network security with SD-WAN
As enterprises transition to SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) to improve network performance and flexibility, ensuring robust security becomes a critical concern. SD-WAN offers a suite of advanced security features designed to protect data and maintain secure communications across the network.
Understanding the security features of SD-WAN is crucial for enterprise tech leaders looking to safeguard their networks. Keep reading to understand the key security features of SD-WAN, including encryption, secure tunneling, and integrated security services, as well as how these features enhance network security.
Key security features of SD-WAN
Encryption
- Functionality: SD-WAN solutions employ strong encryption protocols, such as IPsec (Internet Protocol Security) and SSL/TLS (Secure Sockets Layer/Transport Layer Security), to secure data in transit. These protocols ensure that data traveling across public and private networks remains confidential and protected from interception or tampering.
- Benefits: Encryption provides a secure layer for data communication, safeguarding sensitive information from unauthorized access and ensuring data integrity.
Secure tunneling
- Functionality: SD-WAN creates secure tunnels between endpoints, encapsulating data packets to protect them from external threats. These tunnels are established using encryption and secure protocols, ensuring that data remains secure as it traverses different network paths.
- Benefits: Secure tunneling protects data from eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks, ensuring that only authorized endpoints can access the transmitted information.
Integrated security services
- Functionality: Modern SD-WAN solutions often integrate a range of security services, including firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS), and unified threat management (UTM). These services provide comprehensive protection against a wide array of cyber threats.
- Benefits: Integrated security services enhance the overall security posture of the network by providing real-time threat detection and mitigation, reducing the risk of security breaches.
Segmentation, Zero Trust Security and SASE
- Functionality: SD-WAN integrates with cloud security solutions to form a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture, enabling Zero Trust Security principles. by integrating with cloud security, SD-WAN and SSE combine to create a highly-secure posture for organizations and allow them to manage the network and security in a tightly integrated manner. By enabling SASE, organizations are able to protect their whole estate from sites, clouds and users and ensure zero trust principles are having adhered to
- Benefits: Network segmentation and Zero Trust Security reduce the attack surface and prevent lateral movement of threats within the network, enhancing overall security.
Secure Internet breakout
- Functionality: SD-WAN allows for secure Internet breakout, enabling direct and secure access to cloud services and Internet resources from branch locations. This is achieved by leveraging local Internet connections while ensuring that security policies are consistently applied.
- Benefits: Secure Internet breakout reduces latency and improves performance for cloud applications while maintaining robust security controls.
Real-time monitoring and analytics
- Functionality: SD-WAN solutions provide real-time monitoring and analytics capabilities, giving administrators visibility into network traffic and security events. These tools enable proactive threat detection and response, ensuring that security incidents are quickly identified and addressed.
- Benefits: Real-time monitoring and analytics enhance the ability to detect and respond to security threats, reducing the risk of successful attacks and minimizing potential damage.
Best practices for secure SD-WAN deployment
To maximize the security benefits of SD-WAN, we recommend working with an experienced Managed Service Provider (MSP).
An MSP, like Expereo, can help you ensure best practice when deploying SD-WAN by following this five-step process:
- Conducting a comprehensive security assessment
A good MSP would conduct a thorough security assessment of your current network infrastructure to identify vulnerabilities and areas for improvement.
They would then use this assessment to inform your SD-WAN deployment strategy and ensure that all security requirements are addressed.
- Ensuring robust encryption standards
An MSP would work with you to create an SD-WAN strategy designed to provide robust encryption protocols, such as IPsec and SSL/TLS, to secure data in transit.
They would also regularly update encryption standards to protect against emerging threats and vulnerabilities as part of an ongoing optimization program.
- Applying consistent security policies
By developing and enforcing consistent security policies across the entire SD-WAN network, an MSP can create a network security strategy that is adaptable to the latest threats. This would include access controls, authentication mechanisms, and traffic filtering rules.
A good MSP would also use centralized management tools to simplify policy enforcement and ensure compliance.
- Conducting regular security audits
Assess the effectiveness of your SD-WAN security measures and identify potential areas for improvement should be one of the top priorities for your chosen MSP.
They should audit findings to continuously enhance your security posture and address any identified gaps.
- Offering regular training
An MSP works as an extension of your internal teams, but they should also integrate with them, and offer comprehensive training for IT staff and end-users on SD-WAN security best practices and potential threats regularly.
This fosters a culture of security awareness within the organization to reduce the risk of human error and insider threats.
Enhance your network security with Managed SD-WAN from Expereo
Implementing SD-WAN with a focus on robust security can help your organization achieve a secure, high-performance network that supports business growth and innovation. But it’s much easier to ensure smooth deployment with expert support.
Expereo’s Managed SD-WAN services provide end-to-end management of deployment, management and optimization.
Get in touch today to discuss your connectivity needs.