What is SASE?
What is SASE?
Coined by Gartner in 2019, Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) describes a modern cybersecurity architecture. The SASE model focuses on bringing security services closer to users and granting them the appropriate level of access based on their risk level at that moment.
SASE (pronounced “sassy”) is the embodiment of networking converged with network security. A SASE platform provides strong protection from attack regardless of the user’s location and ensures consistent policy enforcement wherever users are, without having to backhaul traffic to a corporate location. This process is transparent to users and delivers a more secure environment.
What problems does SASE solve?
Many organizations have a complicated network infrastructure: distributed sites, remote users, too many appliances. The operational complexity of these elements creates significant management and maintenance challenges for SecOps teams.
Many security controls use their own security management system, each with their own configuration processes and interoperability challenges. This situation often produces visibility gaps that can increase risk and overwhelm IT teams. On top of that, fluctuations in network traffic and application diversity require additional resources to accommodate usage spikes while minimizing latency.
Most IT teams have invested a lot of time and money preparing for traffic increases and the expected barrage of cyberattacks. They’re often forced to make tough decisions between accessibility and security. That’s because traditional architectures backhaul traffic to a centralized network hub for security inspection and then route it to the desired application or service. This process, while highly secure, negatively impacts performance and budget, especially when it becomes clear that additional capacity is needed.
A SASE architecture, by contrast, inspects traffic and makes services accessible at points of presence near the user’s geolocation. Extra resources can be elastically added to accommodate peak demand then scaled down when demand decreases. By eliminating traffic backhauling, businesses no longer need to choose between security and accessibility, making the end user experience seamless and reducing risk.
How does SASE create a “threat-aware” network?
A SASE platform delivers networking and security solutions together as one cohesive service that addresses an organization’s network and security management challenges. IT teams can use all points of connection on the network to see, automate, and protect against malicious activity instead of being restricted to performing these tasks in a data center gateway or at the physical network perimeter.
These capabilities empower the network to be “threat aware,” meaning able to detect threats and stop them from gaining a foothold in the network. As a result, safeguarding user identities, applications, and infrastructure becomes easier.
A SASE model delivers the threat-aware network for the public cloud era and should ultimately improve security while reducing complexity and streamlining management. By making security easier to manage, SASE enhances the operational feasibility of the network.
SASE At-A-Glance
What are the benefits of SASE?
Rather than a single product, SASE is an architectural shift in how networking and security technologies are implemented. SASE vendors offer businesses a more flexible, scalable, and secure way to manage their networks, particularly as cloud adoption and remote worker numbers continue to grow. Its cost-effectiveness and ability to simplify complex network architectures also make it a compelling option for modern enterprises. A SASE architecture helps evolve today’s corporate networks with:
- Improved security: Bad actors use any means necessary to attack a network, so it’s critical to have consistent security policies and services networkwide to safeguard users, infrastructure, and applications wherever they reside. SASE delivers an enhanced security solution that’s easy to deploy and leverages distributed connection points to apply security policy and enforce threat prevention for stronger end-to-end security.
- Greater operational agility: Networkwide visibility is critical to quickly assess application and network health and to identify potentially malicious activity. Through a reduction in complexity, existing resources can do more and see farther. The natural convergence of the network with security capabilities provides one clear focal point for system administrators. Policy consistency reduces configuration errors and enhances overall security efficacy.
- Increased ease of use: Historically, organizations have had to deal with routing traffic through multiple layers of defense and primary “choke points” where firewalls are situated. This is in addition to many other access controls to manage. With SASE, the focus is on the direct connection from the client device to the cloud.
- Improved network performance: SASE improves network performance by routing traffic through the nearest point of presence (PoP), reducing latency. It enables users to securely connect to cloud applications directly without having to backhaul traffic to a data center, improving user experience. Additionally, leveraging edge locations closer to users ensures better performance for time-sensitive applications.
- Lower operational costs: SASE reduces the need for multiple point products (e.g., separate firewall, VPN, WAN solutions) by combining networking and security services into a single framework, lowering operational costs. The cloud-based model eliminates the need for costly hardware at each location, minimizing capital expenditures.
How does SASE help secure the network?
SASE helps secure the network by combining multiple security functions into a unified, cloud-native platform. It addresses the security challenges of modern, distributed environments where users, devices, and applications are spread across multiple locations. The components of SASE include:
- Software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN): An automated, programmatic approach to managing enterprise network connectivity and circuit costs
- Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS): Identifies applications and inspects traffic for exploits and malware with over 99.8% effectiveness
- Secure Web Gateway (SWG): Protects web access by enforcing acceptable use policies and preventing web-borne threats
- Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB): Provides visibility into SaaS applications and granular controls to ensure authorized access, threat prevention, and compliance
- Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Classifies and monitors data transactions and ensures business compliance requirements and data protection rules are followed
- Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA): Gives remote users secure remote access to corporate and cloud-based resources, providing reliable connectivity and consistent security to any device, anywhere. Reduces risk by extending visibility and policy enforcement to remote users and devices wherever they are
- Advanced Threat Prevention: Discovers zero-day malware and malicious connections, including botnets and C2, even when traffic cannot be decrypted. Enforces granular protection mechanisms, such as file quarantine and reduced access rights
SASE use cases
A SASE architecture is well suited for a variety of modern networking and security needs. Some of the most common use cases include:
- Secure distributed workforces: SASE provides secure access to cloud and on-premises applications using ZTNA and SWG, ensuring employees can connect from any location with consistent security policies and optimized performance.
- Adopt cloud and SaaS applications: SASE enables direct, secure access to cloud applications (e.g., AWS, Microsoft 365, Salesforce) without backhauling traffic through a centralized data center. It optimizes performance through edge computing and SD-WAN while providing security services like CASB to control cloud app usage and protect data.
- Simplify networking and security management: SASE converges networking and security into a single platform, providing centralized control and visibility. This unified approach simplifies policy management, reduces the need for multiple point solutions, and ensures consistent security policy enforcement across the entire network.
- Branch office connectivity: SASE replaces MPLS with SD-WAN, providing secure, high-performance connectivity for branch offices. Security services such as next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) and threat protection are integrated into the architecture, ensuring each branch office is protected without needing on-premises security hardware.
- Zero Trust security implementation: SASE is built around the ZTNA model that continuously verifies the identity of users and devices, only granting them access to the specific resources they need. This limits lateral movement of threats within the network.
- Secure internet and SaaS access: SASE leverages SWG and CASB to provide secure, controlled access to SaaS and web-based applications. It also ensures that security policies are enforced uniformly, protecting data from exposure and preventing malware or phishing attacks.
- Data protection and compliance: SASE includes DLP capabilities, helping organizations monitor and control the movement of sensitive data. Its unified platform also simplifies auditing and reporting, ensuring compliance with regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI-DSS.
- Optimized performance for global and distributed users: SASE leverages a globally distributed cloud architecture and edge computing, ensuring that users connect to the nearest point of presence (PoP). This reduces latency and optimizes application performance, especially for users in remote locations.
To summarize, SASE architecture is ideal for organizations seeking to secure distributed workforces, adopt cloud and SaaS applications, simplify networking and security management, and improve performance while maintaining data protection and regulatory compliance.
SASE vs. SSE
SASE is a comprehensive framework that combines both networking (e.g., SD-WAN) and security services (e.g., SWG, CASB, ZTNA) into a single cloud-native solution designed to securely connect distributed users, devices, and locations. In contrast, SSE (Security Service Edge) is a subset of SASE that focuses solely on security services without including the networking aspects, such as SD-WAN. SSE secures access to cloud services, private applications, and the internet but leaves network management and optimization to other solutions. Essentially, SASE covers both network and security while SSE is limited to security functions only.
Juniper’s SASE solution
Juniper Secure AI-Native Edge is not just a security solution, it’s also a business enabler. It helps organizations achieve better business outcomes by delivering superior operational efficiency and providing a better user experience. When combined with industry-leading security efficacy, it delivers superior protection and performance with exceptional operational agility.
Juniper offers the only Secure AI-Native Edge solution that integrates networking and security in a common operational portal with industry-leading AIOps. This improves collaboration and network visibility, enabling more efficient troubleshooting and faster responses to security incidents.
Secure AI-Native Edge offers comprehensive security for web, SaaS, and on-premises applications. It ensures users have consistent and secure access that follows them wherever they go, effectively protecting against a wide range of digital threats. When combined with Juniper’s AI-driven SD-WAN, the Secure AI-Native Edge solution offers a best-in-suite SASE approach. This integration helps streamline WAN operations, improving the performance of cloud applications and ensuring secure and optimized connectivity regardless of location.
Juniper helps reduce risk by leveraging effective threat prevention services proven to be the most effective on the market to inspect traffic, ensuring secure access to web, SaaS, and on-premises applications from anywhere.
SASE FAQs
What is SASE?
SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) is a cybersecurity framework that combines wide area networking (WAN) capabilities with security services to support the dynamic and secure access needs of modern organizations.
Is SASE cloud-based?
Yes, SASE is cloud-based by design. It integrates networking and security services into a unified, cloud-native platform. This cloud-centric approach allows SASE to provide scalability, flexibility, and centralized management for businesses with distributed workforces, multiple branch offices, and cloud environments.
Does SASE backhaul traffic?
No, SASE generally does not backhaul traffic in the traditional sense. One of the key benefits of SASE is that it eliminates the need for traffic backhauling, which is a common issue in legacy network architectures. A reduction in backhauling decreases the amount of redundant traffic traveling across the network, freeing up bandwidth and improving overall network efficiency.
What is a threat-aware network?
A threat-aware network is a network that is designed to proactively detect, respond to, and mitigate security threats in real time. It integrates advanced security mechanisms and threat intelligence to monitor traffic, identify potential vulnerabilities, and act quickly to neutralize malicious activities before they can cause damage. The key feature of a threat-aware network is its ability to continuously assess and adapt to evolving cyber threats.
Is SASE a cost-effective solution?
Yes, SASE is generally considered a cost-effective solution due to its ability to consolidate multiple security and networking tools, reduce hardware and maintenance costs, improve bandwidth efficiency, and enhance scalability. Its cloud-native architecture eliminates the need for expensive hardware while subscription-based pricing models provide financial flexibility. Additionally, SASE’s ability to optimize network performance and enhance security reduces both operational expenses and the financial risks associated with cyber threats, making it a financially sound choice for modern enterprises.
