Defining hybrid networks and how to secure them
IT teams have to deploy , manage and secure increasingly complex and hybrid networks . John Madisson , EVP of Products and CMO at Fortinet , explains five essential security functions for hybrid networks .
Organisations have distributed data
and workloads across both cloud environments and on-premises data centres . As a result , IT teams have to deploy , manage and secure increasingly complex and hybrid networks . And even though many organisations have moved many of their workloads into the cloud , the majority of them still operate hybrid environments .
Hybrid environments allow organisations to keep important data on-premises . This allows them to maintain full control over sensitive assets , while also taking full advantage of the scalability and agility the cloud provides . However , as organisations become more hybrid and distributed , their security needs to be able to span across all environments .
As applications , resources , devices and workers work from anywhere , networks need to be able to adapt in real-time .
John Madisson , EVP of Products and CMO at Fortinet
Workflows now often span physical data centres as well as multiple cloud environments – applications follow users regardless of where they are connecting from or what device they are using – and data and other resources need to be securely accessed by any user on any device in any location . Security needs to be able to adapt and scale to meet these new requirements .
Five essential security functions to hybrid networks
To properly protect and defend these hybrid environments , organisations should look for security solutions that provide the following critical functions :
Broad : Security solutions need to support a distributed security model where the exact same security solutions can be deployed in any environment .
Integrated : All of the various security solutions deployed across the network need to be able to see and work together as a single system to detect threats and respond to them in a co-ordinated fashion , regardless of where they occur .
Fast : These security functions need to operate not just at the speed of business , but at the speed of threats as well .
Automated : Anomalous and malicious behaviours need automated responses .
Security-driven Networking : Securitydriven Networking weaves security and networking into a single , integrated system . This enables them to establish and enforce Zero Trust access , dynamic network
segmentation and unified enforcement anywhere , on any device , in any location , without introducing security gaps or performance lags .
Success requires networking and security to function as a single solution
The majority of today ’ s security solutions are simply not fast enough , nor smart or responsive enough , don ’ t operate in enough places and can ’ t adapt as quickly as today ’ s business requires . This is especially true in multi-vendor environments with disparate security solutions that don ’ t integrate when deployed . This lack of integration makes it impossible for organisations to securely use the flexible network environments they need to compete effectively .
Instead , these organisations need a security platform , like the Fortinet Security Fabric , designed to span , adapt to and protect today ’ s dynamic environments . If they can ’ t , their business will not be able to keep up . And that is critical in today ’ s digital business environment , where the difference between success and failure can be measured in microseconds . •
40