Taking Cybersecurity to the Edge

Does your business rely on the strength of its information systems? If so, you understand just how important cybersecurity is to the health of your organization. In a near-constant attempt to maintain organizational cybersecurity, many organizations have started changing the way that they approach data and network security, by moving their security efforts to the edge of their network. This is called edge security, and there are some very intriguing benefits.

What is Edge Security?

Edge security is exactly like it sounds like, security that is placed near the edge of the computing network, rather in the center of it. Most of the threats that could hurt the network enter it far from the central infrastructure and make their way through the network. By implementing an edge security strategy, you significantly reduce the risk of devastating network breaches that come from the numerous devices that show up on today’s business network, including IoT devices and sensors, smartphones, and workstations.

What Warrants Edge Security?

The major concern is that a lot of these devices are asking for network access, but aren’t covered by the organizational cybersecurity strategy. Since these devices aren’t as secure as your central IT infrastructure, hackers target them to try and gain access to your network. The big risk is just this, as systems on the edge of your network are probably not as secure, but if they are compromised, you have major problems on your hands. 

What Does Edge Security Entail?

To many, security is security is security. In many ways edge security is just doubling down on strong authentication and authorization practices at the edge of your business’ network rather than at its core. This means not only securing these devices’ physical wellbeing but also access. A lot of security nowadays is controlling who can access what, and when it comes to IoT devices and non-essential computing devices that are brought onto your network, ensuring that they are being accessed by authorized users is the most crucial element of an edge security platform. 

Another big part of edge security is encryption. With today’s distributed workforce and business reliance on cloud computing, data is always in transit. Having a solution in place that allows you to encrypt this data, even if it doesn’t touch your central IT infrastructure is important. Nowadays, businesses have the option to encrypt their data while it is static as well, a solid strategy to ensure that only authorized users access this data. 

Enhanced Monitoring

One of the crucial parts of an edge security platform, just as it is in a traditional cybersecurity platform, is the ability to tell if there are troubles brewing. The way that the IT professionals at XFER handle this is through automated monitoring; a strategy that is central to an edge computing platform. You can’t mitigate threats that you don’t know exist and today’s cutting-edge monitoring tools can help identify threats and then quarantine them or eliminate them before they become security issues for your business. 

We Can Help with Your Edge Security Needs

Our experienced technicians have seen it all and can help your organization set up a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy that not only protects your central infrastructure, but works to use edge security practices to mitigate a lot of the problems that an organization would see coming in from outside their network. Give us a call at 734-927-6666 / 800-GET-XFER today to learn more.