Networking and security as a service provider GTT Communications published the findings from its latest study: Trends and Solutions for a More Secure Perimeter. This report highlights increasing enterprise reliance on SD-WAN, SASE and SSE as essential defenses against t/he cybersecurity threats that exploit cloud-first networking, remote and hybrid work environment vulnerabilities.
GTT commissioned the study from Hanover Research to examine security concerns and the deployment of SD-WAN enabled SASE frameworks and SSE solutions.
Key findings included:
- Undetected vulnerabilities, ransomware, data theft and network interruptions among the most pressing concerns for IT leaders, ranging from 46-43 percent.
- 35 percent of enterprises have implemented a SASE framework, while 42 percent deployed SSE, to combat these threats.
“While any security incident can lead to reputational damage and financial loss through ransoms, downtime and more, undetected vulnerabilities can be particularly damaging because they allow threats to persist undetected, potentially leading to the silent exploitation of networks over an extended period,” said Tom Major, SVP, product management and technology, GTT. “Once inside, a hacker can steal sensitive data, exfiltrate intellectual property, disrupt operations, plant further malware and use the compromised network to launch attacks on others — all without being detected. Organizations that deploy a layered framework like SASE can bring about the comprehensive shift to a zero-trust corporate security posture, enabling employees to maintain simple and secure access to data and applications anywhere in the world.”
“The survey results indicate that enterprises today are entering into an increasingly complex and sophisticated threat landscape posing unprecedented risks to their operations,” said Kimberly Pate, managing research director, Hanover Research. “This is driving stronger collaboration between security and networking teams, as they work together to integrate security measures directly into their network infrastructures for enhanced protection and agility.”
The majority of those surveyed operate with integration between security and networking teams when it comes to managing their SD-WAN, SASE and SSE solutions. Where each solution type has been deployed, about two-thirds of security and networking teams work together to manage it, with a more or less even split among the remainder having one or the other team running it exclusively.
Hanover surveyed 314 IT, infrastructure, networking, security and other managers – or higher – worldwide, spanning retail, hospitality, manufacturing, food and beverage, healthcare, financial services, tech and more. Each respondent represents at least five enterprise network locations and annual revenues of $200 million or more.
