Network Segmentation

By creating segments and micro-segments with security polies enforced provides IT admins more granular visibility into their networks. Security management solutions provide dashboards that reveal connections between different segments, including user access information with detailed analytics and reports.

Most organizations do not know which security policies are protecting their critical assets or who is accessing them — an oversight that could leave critical security gaps. By putting these assets in a segment protected by strict security policies and access control, even the most advanced cyberattacks will be thwarted.

Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) is the new paradigm for secure remote access — and the best way to achieve ZTNA is through network segmentation. By using virtual private network (VPN) technology in firewalls or secure mobile access solutions, you ensure remote and mobile users can access corporate resources only in their authorized segments.

Many government, industry and corporate regulations require the ability to demonstrate that sensitive data is isolated and only authorized personnel have access. It is easier to achieve compliance by segmenting sensitive assets such as cardholder data environments (CDEs), personally identifiable information (PII), healthcare applications and customer databases.

Securing cloud workloads with the same degree of protection as on-premises, while at the same time providing granular secure access, can be challenging. This can be achieved by segmenting cloud workloads into different buckets and securing them through technologies such as virtual firewalls and cloud access security brokers.

Enterprises want to make sure contractors, partners and other third-party businesses can’t move from one or two zones into the rest of the network. Using segmentation, security admins can isolate third party accessible zones from the rest of the network and cloud infrastructure and block unauthorized connections between zones using firewall policies.

Segmentation helps coders and DevOps teams to have an environment that is secure and compliant with regulations. Segmentation can isolate intellectual property and prevent access to sensitive code by outside attackers, unauthorized insiders, and administrators who don’t have a real need to see it. Companies can also enforce separation between software development, test, staging, and production environments.

IoT and operational technologies include kiosks, cars, ATMs, Point of Sale (POS) devices, and systems running old operating systems that cannot be updated. Manufacturers, utilities, energy companies, and others that rely on operational technologies (OT) to run factories, electrical grids, and pipelines. Their infrastructure contains industrial control systems (ICS) and SCADA systems that were not designed for security in mind. Segmentation can improve security by isolating IoT devices and OT networks and controlling access to them.