What’s Next for Your Security Program? Consider Secure Service Edge

You’ve got the basics in place for a secure IT environment (modern firewall, encrypted data, endpoint security, single sign-on, endpoint management, solid backups, employee education…) Now what? Are you done?

Thanks to well-publicized events like ransomware attacks, many emerging companies have a fundamental security program in place or in progress. But it’s important to realize that security is an ongoing journey and not a final destination. Attackers are also innovating. With new AI tools, who knows what they’ll be able to do?

At the same time, employee tools and practices are constantly changing, opening new holes for potential threats. The rapidly proliferating menu of cloud services required by modern businesses are often accessed from outside the controls of your internal network. Are employees and contractors accessing sites they shouldn’t, unintentionally or otherwise? Are they exporting data to untrusted/unauthorized sources? Are they spending company money on services when you’re already paying for other equivalent tools? More comprehensive, centrally managed solutions are needed. Fortunately, these are now accessible to emerging companies at modest cost and with manageable complexity.

Our recommendation for a next step is to consider implementing a Secure Service Edge (SSE) solution, such as Cisco Umbrella, Skyhigh and Zscaler, that monitors and controls access from anywhere at a granular level. Implementing an SSE tool gives you a foundation for managing the data that comes into and goes out of your company that can evolve over time.

This doesn’t mean you need to lock down everything from the start, making mistakes that frustrate employees. You can start with passive monitoring and alerting to see what‘s being used and how, then gradually implement common-sense policies that protect the company’s valuable IP and sensitive secrets from exposure, unintentional or otherwise.

According to Gartner:

“Security service edge (SSE) is a solution that secures access to the web, cloud services and private applications regardless of the location of the user or the device they are using or where that application is hosted. It enables a hybrid workforce more efficiently than traditional on-premises security solutions. Integrated across multiple traffic types and destinations, SSE allows a more seamless experience for both users and admins while maintaining a consistent security stance.”

An IT partner like KalioTek can help you select and implement the right SSE solution for you, monitor behavior and establish the right policies to protect your company.

KalioTek helps venture-funded growth companies achieve their growth goals by taking care of IT and security domains so they can focus on their core business initiatives. We advise them on scalable security solutions and implement them in a sensible phased manner appropriate for their size and situation. Our 20+ years of experience serving emerging life science and technology companies has prepared us to understand right-sized solutions and processes.