Security Magazine logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Security Magazine logo
  • NEWS
    • Security Newswire
    • Technologies & Solutions
  • MANAGEMENT
    • Leadership Management
    • Enterprise Services
    • Security Education & Training
    • Logical Security
    • Security & Business Resilience
    • Profiles in Excellence
  • PHYSICAL
    • Access Management
    • Fire & Life Safety
    • Identity Management
    • Physical Security
    • Video Surveillance
    • Case Studies (Physical)
  • CYBER
    • Cybersecurity News
    • More
  • BLOG
  • COLUMNS
    • Cyber Tactics
    • Leadership & Management
    • Security Talk
    • Career Intelligence
    • Leader to Leader
    • Cybersecurity Education & Training
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Annual Guarding Report
    • Most Influential People in Security
    • The Security Benchmark Report
    • The Security Leadership Issue
    • Top Guard and Security Officer Companies
    • Top Cybersecurity Leaders
    • Women in Security
  • SECTORS
    • Arenas / Stadiums / Leagues / Entertainment
    • Banking/Finance/Insurance
    • Construction, Real Estate, Property Management
    • Education: K-12
    • Education: University
    • Government: Federal, State and Local
    • Hospitality & Casinos
    • Hospitals & Medical Centers
    • Infrastructure:Electric,Gas & Water
    • Ports: Sea, Land, & Air
    • Retail/Restaurants/Convenience
    • Transportation/Logistics/Supply Chain/Distribution/ Warehousing
  • EVENTS
    • Industry Events
    • Webinars
    • Solutions by Sector
    • Security 500 Conference
  • MEDIA
    • Videos
      • Cybersecurity & Geopolitical Discussion
      • Ask Me Anything (AMA) Series
    • Podcasts
    • Polls
    • Photo Galleries
  • MORE
    • Call for Entries
    • Classifieds & Job Listings
    • Continuing Education
    • Newsletter
    • Sponsor Insights
    • Store
    • White Papers
  • EMAG
    • eMagazine
    • This Month's Content
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!
Cybersecurity News

Securing a Moving Target: The Network Perimeter

By Jason Garbis
perimeter-enews
May 4, 2017

In today’s fast-paced business landscape, it’s no longer enough to set up a traditional network perimeter. Cloud services, employee mobility and increased inter-organization collaboration mean that the trusted perimeter is extremely fluid and virtually meaningless. Security practitioners and CISOs can no longer count on extra hours on the job resulting in a secure network.

Something new is required – something that eliminates the idea of a trusted network inside or outside the corporate perimeter. Enter the “software-defined perimeter.”

Network Security is Falling Behind

The enterprise has changed – it’s no longer static. It’s dynamic. It’s no longer on-premises. It’s hybrid.

Today’s workforce no longer sits across from one another at a conference table or strikes up a chat at the water cooler. They are collaborating from different time zones, sitting in coffee shops, airport lounges, and even on their sofas, often using devices so small (and yet so powerful) that it makes desktops PCs seem clunky and quaint by comparison. While this is a benefit to workers everywhere, for the security teams tasked with securing the data and applications on the network, it’s a nightmare. Now, data stored in physical servers has been replaced by virtual ones, housed in centers owned and controlled by third parties.

The entry point for nearly all attacks, whether a result of software or human error (think clicking on a malicious attachment), is often a vulnerability on a network end-point. Regardless of how the breach occurs, they can be very damaging. Savvy criminals use port scanning for externally facing resources to identify easily exploitable vulnerabilities that allow lateral movement across the network, or access to another infrastructure entirely.

Criminals have discovered that, when pushing hard enough on virtual doors, they’ll get in. And, once in, they are free to meander through the network, stealing data and monetizing it for their gain.

Traditional network security tools – firewalls, VPNs, NACs – simply can’t manage and secure these hybrid environments. Organizations need to implement a new model that dynamically creates one-to-one network connections between users and the data they access.

The Software-Defined Perimeter

Securing these numerous combinations requires an approach that goes beyond simple authentication and takes into account such factors as device integrity and real-time user context. Additional levels of control, including multi-factor authentication, need to be applied to certain business-critical applications.

That’s why the new security model gaining support is the software-defined perimeter (SDP). It operates on one simple principle: Trust no one. It is based on a least privilege model of threat prevention and, in tandem, provides operational efficiency to move at the speed of DevOps. The premise is simple – while you can’t secure what you can’t see, the converse is also true – you can’t hack what you can’t see.

SDP takes an “authenticate first, connect second” stance that ensures only authorized users can connect to network resources. All endpoints attempting to access a given infrastructure are authenticated and authorized prior to being able to access any resources on the network. All unauthorized network resources are made invisible. This not only applies the principle of least privilege to the network, it also reduces the attack surface area by hiding network resources from unauthorized or unauthenticated users.

These session-based connections are both temporary and dynamic – they are provisioned when needed, and then torn down to prevent unauthorized access. SDP obscures communication over these connections with strong encryption inclusive of robust key management capabilities.

If an authorized endpoint device should become infected, SDP can help in two ways. First, because the SDP system hides all services that are unauthorized for each user, the attack surface from any given user’s device is minimized. Second, because the SDP platform runs atop the network, it can immediately detect any attempts by an infected device to scan, probe or traverse the network. And, it can respond by, for example, enforcing step-up authentication in real-time, to stymie an attacker.

SDP allows enterprises to apply least privilege access controls to individual user application connections, reducing the attack surface by making servers invisible to bad actors, and in doing so overcomes the constraints of traditional tools by effectively creating a dynamic, individualized perimeter for each user – a network segment of one.

KEYWORDS: cyber security products cybersecurity tools network perimeter network security perimeter security

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Jason Garbis is Vice President, Products at Cryptzone.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
To unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Security's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024

    Security's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024

    Security magazine's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024 award...
    Security Enterprise Services
    By: Security Staff
  • cyber brain

    The intersection of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is a valuable cybersecurity...
    Columns
    By: Pam Nigro
  • artificial intelligence AI graphic

    Assessing the pros and cons of AI for cybersecurity

    Artificial intelligence (AI) has significant implications...
    Cybersecurity Education & Training
    By: Charles Denyer
Manage My Account
  • Security eNewsletter & Other eNews Alerts
  • eMagazine Subscriptions
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Online Registration
  • Mobile App
  • Subscription Customer Service

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Security audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Security or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • Crisis Response Team
    Sponsored byEverbridge

    Automate or Fall Behind – Crisis Response at the Speed of Risk

  • Perimeter security
    Sponsored byAMAROK

    Why Property Security is the New Competitive Advantage

  • Duty of Care
    Sponsored byAMAROK

    Integrating Technology and Physical Security to Advance Duty of Care

Popular Stories

Coding

AI Emerges as the Top Concern for Security Leaders

Half open laptop

“Luigi Was Right”: A Look at the Website Sharing Data on More Than 1,000 Executives

Shopping mall

Victoria’s Secret Security Incident Shuts Down Website

Laptop with coding on ground

Stepping Into the Light: Why CISOs Are Replacing Black-Box Security With Open-Source XDR

Gift cards and credit cards

Why Are Cyberattacks Targeting Retail? Experts Share Their Thoughts

2025 Security Benchmark banner

Events

June 24, 2025

Inside a Modern GSOC: How Anthropic Benchmarks Risk Detection Tools for Speed and Accuracy

For today's security teams, making informed decisions in the first moments of a crisis is critical.

July 17, 2025

Tech in the Jungle: Leveraging Surveillance, Access Control, and Technology in Unique Environments

From animal habitats to bustling crowds of visitors, a zoo is a one-of-a-kind environment for deploying modern security technologies.

View All Submit An Event

Products

Security Culture: A How-to Guide for Improving Security Culture and Dealing with People Risk in Your Organisation

Security Culture: A How-to Guide for Improving Security Culture and Dealing with People Risk in Your Organisation

See More Products

Related Articles

  • building perimeter

    Securing the perimeter in manufacturing and distribution

    See More
  • remote work

    Identity and securing the remote work perimeter

    See More
  • fence_enews

    Three Tips for Securing the Open Enterprise

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • databasehacker

    The Database Hacker's Handboo

See More Products

Events

View AllSubmit An Event
  • March 28, 2012

    The Amphion Forum

    The Amphion Forum (www.amphionforum.com) is taking place 28 March in Munich, and will feature a wide variety of experts in securing the "Internet of Things", or any device that connects to the internet but is not a PC.
View AllSubmit An Event
×

Sign-up to receive top management & result-driven techniques in the industry.

Join over 20,000+ industry leaders who receive our premium content.

SIGN UP TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing