How SSE Reduces Complexity and Cost for Security Teams

The modern threat landscape is vastly different than it was just a few short years ago. The cloud is no longer a tool running alongside on-premises infrastructure. It’s now the backbone of modern organizations — nine in ten businesses see the cloud as “essential for growth,” according to a Deloitte study. 

It’s easy to see why, as cloud computing unlocks numerous efficiencies for small to mid-tier organizations looking to compete on a global scale. However, the shift to cloud computing — along with the changes it brings to the way employees work — also makes data security management far more complex.

Many organizations are turning to security service edge (SSE) solutions to help them manage an increasingly complex attack surface. Here’s why you should consider consolidation into SSE platforms as a core security strategy going forward. 

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SSE: A centralized approach to a decentralized workforce

There’s no longer a single point of entry into sensitive data systems. Employees can now access work from their home network through an IT-managed laptop or a personal computer. They can log into their organization’s communications tools or other cloud-based applications from their mobile phone as they stand in line at a local coffee shop. They can take work with them on the road, collaborating with team members across the globe from a conference hall or hotel room.

Meanwhile, employees often use their own devices to access this information, regardless of whether or not your organization has developed bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies. The number of potential access points has increased alongside the volume of phishing, smishing, and other social engineering attacks. This dramatically increases the potential attack surface of your secure network and makes managing that attack surface far more complex.

Typically, organizations rely on a variety of tools to manage network security across distributed workforces and devices. The average organization relies on around 76 individual tools to help them maintain security, and the costs of those tools add up. Plus, relying on separate tools can introduce inefficiencies into your security posture if they’re not properly integrated. 

Instead of using a host of disparate tools, you need a platform that can unite all the information on a single pane of glass to give your team enough context to make effective security decisions. SSE helps reduce the cost and complexity of managing the data security of the modern, decentralized workforce by combining many essential functions into a single, powerful, flexible solution.

The main components of SSE

The goal of a security service edge solution is to protect your organization’s network and data by managing employee access across all of the web, cloud, and private apps they need to do their jobs.

The Lookout Cloud Security Platform relies on a defense-in-depth approach to protect your organization’s data. It regularly monitors the risk posture of every user and the devices in their possession, dynamically updating zero-trust access to sensitive systems based on the potential level of risk. 

To do this, it combines several critical features into a single platform:

• Secure Private Access is a zero trust network access (ZTNA) tool that provides secure remote access to the apps employees need while preventing lateral movement throughout the network.
• Secure Internet Access is a secure web gateway (SWG) that protects users from threats such as malware, zero-day phishing attempts, browser-based attacks, and accidental data leakage through robust data loss prevention and remote browser isolation tools.
• Secure Cloud Access is a cloud access security broker (CASB) that protects cloud-based and SaaS apps and data as they move throughout your network, relying on granular and adaptive policies to limit access to sensitive data.

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The benefits of a centralized SSE approach

SSE platforms like the Lookout Cloud Security Platform can reduce the cost and complexity of managing data security of modern cloud-based infrastructure in several ways, including:

• Ease of deployment: Rather than stitching together several separate tools, a single engine provides coverage for your entire infrastructure. To make it even easier, Lookout offers a guided process to ensure nothing gets left behind.
• Out-of-the-box policy templates: Place security guardrails for your users and cover the most common device and app use cases, or customize policies further to manage security edge cases.
• A single pane of glass: Get deep insight into who is using what across your entire attack surface, and use that context to make better decisions to improve your security posture.
• A data-centric approach: Data is the most important part of your infrastructure. By taking a data-centric approach, SSEs enable you to quickly and reliably set up robust security systems that keep your information secure, no matter what device employees use.

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Implementing SSE: Key considerations

Transitioning from a traditional cloud security approach to SSE requires a detailed examination of your current infrastructure alongside your employees’ needs to reduce friction and minimize the risk of creating new security gaps. Consider the following as you research which SSE is right for you:

• Incorporating legacy infrastructure: Maintaining security on legacy devices and systems is a significant obstacle to any data security transition. When implementing SSE solutions, you must ensure they can interface with these systems with minimal lift. Otherwise, you may find that your organization needs to spend time and resources on refactoring or migrating these systems to remain secure. 
• Ensuring usability: You want to keep operations secure, but your employees want to maintain the same level of productivity and data access. Investigate SSE systems that will reduce friction for users while maintaining high levels of security. 
• Consistent protection: SSE platforms must be capable of protecting BYOD and managed devices in equal measure. Modern SSE platforms are beginning to integrate AI-powered detection tools to assess and manage risk across all devices so security teams can respond wherever they need to. 
• Scaling security: Cloud-based SSE platforms are designed with scaling in mind, so look for a platform that will grow alongside your organization.

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Consolidation unlocks efficiency

Your organization’s infrastructure might be complex, but managing its security doesn’t have to be. By leveraging these consolidated SSE platforms, you can protect sensitive information at the office, on managed devices, in the cloud, or anywhere else through powerful security tools that can analyze and address risk as it arises.

For more information on the benefits of consolidation through SSE solutions, download the free e-book Standalone Tools Create Complexity: Why You Need To Consolidate Your IT Security for more advice from the experts at Lookout.