Intelligent CIO APAC Issue 09 | Page 54

FEATURE : THE EDGE
Vlado Vajdic , Solutions Engineer , Attivo Networks and send just those to the data center or cloud infrastructure for further analysis .
Another benefit of Edge Computing is reduced latency . Rather than sending requests from the Edge and then waiting for a reply , the devices can make decisions themselves .
This shift is particularly relevant when it comes to devices such as self-driving cars . The latency involved in waiting for a decision or direction from a data center could lead to an accident . Instead , the car has the computing resources in place , which allows for autonomous operation .
The myriad applications of Edge Computing will continue to cause its usage to increase . Indeed , according to research firm Gartner , by 2029 , there will be more than 15 billion IoT devices connected to enterprise IT infrastructures around the world .
Securing the Edge
As organizations push more computing capacity out of the data center to the Edge of the corporate network ,
the challenge of maintaining adequate security grows . They must rethink the techniques and tools that have worked well in a centralized environment and often replace those that can ’ t address Edge Computing ’ s security needs .
One of the critical factors that organizations must recognize is that every deployed Edge device becomes an additional potential attack vector . Something as simple as a Wi-Fi-connected web camera , if compromised , can become an entry point into the entire corporate network .
One approach that organizations can take is to segment the corporate network . In this way , traffic from Edge devices remains separated from other traffic , limiting the chance that an attacker can move between systems .
Creating a separate network for Edge devices ensures that their performance is not detrimentally affected when user activity is high . This segmentation helps to maintain reliability and reduces the chances of bottlenecks .
The role of the decoy
Another technique growing in popularity is the deployment of decoy Edge Computing devices . These decoys mimic legitimate devices and their purpose is to attract the attention of cybercriminals attempting to break into the infrastructure .
54 INTELLIGENTCIO APAC www . intelligentcio . com