Security Service Edge (SSE) is SASE, minus the WAN
Security Service Edge (SSE) describe the foundational cybersecurity characteristics found in Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solutions. SSE solutions provide policy-driven, secure Internet access for businesses using modern cloud-based security techniques. SSE is, essentially, SASE security tools without the Wide Area Network (WAN) management.
“Security service edge (SSE) secures access to the web, cloud services, and private applications,” explained Gartner. “Capabilities include access control, threat protection, data security, security monitoring, and acceptable use control enforced by network-based and API-based integration. SSE is primarily delivered as a cloud-based service and may include on-premises or agent-based components.”
Enterprise data is increasingly porous. It might be on premises or in a colocation facility, in public and private clouds. The hybrid work trend complicates that further. Cloud-based security tools like SSE and SASE have emerged to fill that gap.
Gartner claims SASE is the fastest-growing cloud opportunity in the network security market. The company is predicting more than 41% year-over-year growth for the SASE market, topping $6.8 billion in 2022. By 2025, Gartner predicts, more than 50% of organizations will have explicit SASE adoption strategies up place, up from 5% in 2020.
SSE security functionality rolls together a Secure Web Gateway (SWG), Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS), Zero-Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB). These services can be provided on-premises or as cloud-based software.
A SWG intermediates between users and the Internet, making sure that malicious software is blocked. ZTNA makes sure that users only have access to the network resources they need to accomplish their task. CASB provides a security policy enforcement framework. FWaaS services comprise Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) functionality as software: NGFW systems incorporate traditional firewall abilities like dynamic packet filtering, or stateful inspections, network address translation (NAT) and Virtual Private Network (VPN) support.
“This unified approach enhances security across the IT ecosystem while reducing complexity and saving time for administrators. Additionally, as the name security service edge implies, SSE offerings deliver their comprehensive security functionality through the cloud and as close to the end user as possible,” said Zscaler.
Securing enterprise cloud adoption gradually
“Simply put, secure service edge (SSE) technologies help organizations support workers anywhere and anytime, using a cloud-centric approach for the enforcement of security policy so that their data and devices are protected,” explained Cisco.
SSE solutions are aimed at reducing complexity in the security pipeline while providing flexibility for the user and the enterprise.
“A comprehensive SSE solution provides organizations with the full set of security technologies they need to provide employees, trusted partners and contractors secure remote access to applications, data, tools and other corporate resources, and monitor and track behavior once users access the network,” said Palo Alto Networks.
“A simple way to think about SSE, and the work being done by enterprise IT teams toward SSE, is as ‘the security side’ of SASE — managing access to and protecting an organization’s data, which in so many cases today is crucial for competitive advantage. Remember, too, that IT teams are simultaneously modernizing ‘the networking side,’ such as delivering SD-WAN capabilities,” explains Netskope.
