What Is Edge Security, and How Does It Work?

Edge security implements security controls at the network edge, rather than the network core. This approach to security is designed to address the potential risks of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, mobile devices, and other systems that are not protected by an organization’s centralized security architecture.

The Critical Components of Edge Security

A secure edge environment requires a variety of security capabilities that address the different threats and risks faced by edge devices.

Access Control

Edge devices are often outside the traditional corporate perimeter and may be deployed in insecure and public locations. For this reason, robust access control is essential to protect unauthorized access to these resources and the data that they contain.

Edge security systems should implement role-based authentication and least privilege access to ensure that only authorized users and devices can access these resources. This should be supported by multi-factor authentication (MFA) to ensure stronger user identification and reduce the risk of unauthorized access in distributed environments.

Data Encryption

Edge devices, such as IoT devices, commonly have access to highly sensitive data. For example, networked security cameras store and transmit video footage of secure environments to a centralized server for processing and monitoring.

Encryption is essential to protect this sensitive data from being exposed to an attacker who compromises these edge devices. Data should be encrypted both at rest and in transit, and encryption keys should be stored in a secure enclave and rotated regularly to manage the risk of potential compromise.

Threat Detection and Response

Edge devices are a common target for cyberattacks, especially by threat actors looking to build a botnet or compromise critical OT systems. Since these devices are outside the traditional perimeter, organizations need decentralized threat detection and response capabilities to address these threats.

Organizations should have continuous monitoring in place for their edge devices to help identify anomalous or malicious activities that could indicate potential attacks. Also, automated incident response capabilities are important to help contain and mitigate the impacts of an intrusion and to scale response across numerous affected devices.

IoT/OT Device Security

IoT and OT devices face unique security challenges. IoT devices are known for their poor security postures — making them a favorite target for malware — and OT systems’ uptime requirements can introduce vulnerabilities. With limited maintenance windows available, there is limited opportunity to apply patches and a reluctance to apply updates that might break critical systems. Additionally, systems are commonly kept beyond end-of-life to maintain uptime and compatibility with other legacy systems.

IoT and OT device security involves implementing security controls to manage the risks of these devices. This includes applying patches when possible, controlling access to these devices based on least-privilege policies,  and ensuring that devices are configured securely. These controls are often best implemented via an IoT/OT security platform that automatically discovers devices, applies access controls, scans for misconfigurations, and blocks potential malicious traffic.

Network Security

Edge devices lie outside the traditional network perimeter, exposing them to potential attack and abuse. They also frequently transmit sensitive information over the network, so they require protection against threats.

Managing the security risks of these systems and their exposure to potential cyberattacks requires putting network security controls in place. For example, IoT and OT devices should be segmented from the rest of the network to make them more difficult to target and to limit the impact of a compromised device. Devices should also be protected by firewalls and intrusion prevention systems (IPS), and remote devices should have secure connections to the network via a VPN and strong access controls.

Zero Trust

Edge devices are uniquely exposed to attackers, often insecure, have access to sensitive data, and perform important business functions. This combination makes them a common target for cybercriminals and makes strong access management vital for security.

The zero-trust security model is especially applicable in high-risk edge environments. By explicitly verifying user, device, and application identities for every request, an organization reduces the risk of unauthorized access to edge devices. Enforcing zero trust principles also reduces the potential impact caused by a compromised edge device since attackers will be limited in their ability to move laterally through the network and the damage that they can do with their stolen access.

Strategies To Implement Effective Edge Security

A corporate edge security strategy should be designed to meet internal security goals and external compliance requirements. While the details of an edge security architecture and strategy should be defined by business needs, most should include the following capabilities:

Authentication and Access Control

Authentication and access control are essential to prevent unauthorized access to edge devices and to protect the network from compromised edge systems. Zero trust access helps to manage these risks via least-privilege, role-based access controls supported by MFA, micro-segmentation, and other provisions.

Data Encryption

In many cases, encryption is critical both for data security and regulatory compliance. All edge devices should be configured to encrypt data at rest, and SSL/TLS should be used to encrypt all network communications to and from edge devices. The organization should also implement secure key management best practices, such as secure storage and regular key rotation.

Network Segmentation

Network segmentation manages the risk of an attacker moving laterally from a compromised edge device to access other network systems by forcing the attacker to cross secure boundaries where access controls and corporate policies can be enforced. IoT and OT systems should be located on their own, isolated network segment, protected by a firewall that understands the protocols that they use and has rules tailored to their needs.

Intrusion Detection

Deploying intrusion detection systems (IDS) in edge environments is essential to enable rapid detection of and response to potential threats in these environments. These systems should be continuously monitored so the organization can respond quickly to malicious activity before it escalates into a greater threat.

Endpoint Security

Edge devices aren’t behind the traditional network perimeter, making endpoint security even more important in defending them against attacks. Critical endpoint security best practices include patch management, anti-malware solutions, and secure configurations.

Behavioral Analytics

Behavioral analytics can identify unusual or malicious behavior that could point to a compromised edge device or an attack against it. AI and ML can be used to identify these patterns and potentially take automated action to remediate the detected threat.

Benefits of Effective Edge Security

An effective edge security strategy brings various benefits to the business, including:

• Improved Performance: Deploying security controls at the network edge eliminates the need to backhaul traffic through a centralized site for inspection and policy enforcement. This enables improved system performance without compromising security.
• Enhanced Data Privacy: Edge devices collect, store, process, and transmit highly sensitive information. Implementing data encryption and security controls designed to protect edge devices against attack reduces the risk of unauthorized access to this data.
• Simplified Compliance: Data privacy laws may mandate that certain security controls be in place to protect edge devices and the data that they contain. Implementing edge security can make this easier to achieve than if the organization tries to maintain all security and compliance functions at a centralized location.

Best Practices for Data Protection at the Edge

Data protection is a core aspect of edge security due to the valuable and sensitive data accessible to these devices. Some best practices for ensuring the security of this data throughout its lifecycle include:

• Data Encryption: Data should be encrypted both at rest and in transit. This reduces the risk that an attacker will be able to read and use the data even if they gain access to it.
• Access Management: Data should be protected by zero trust access controls. Restricting access only to authorized users and performing explicit verification of each request reduces the risk of breaches.
• Secure Data Transmission: Data transmitted between edge devices and centralized servers should be protected by a VPN or SSL/TLS. This both protects against eavesdropping and authenticates the identity of the recipient.
• Local Data Processing: Processing data locally reduces the volume of data that needs to be sent over the network. This both reduces bandwidth utilization and reduces the risk of data leaks by limiting the amount of sensitive data moving over the network and stored in centralized systems.

Tighten Up Your Edge Security with Cato’s SASE Solution

Deploying security on or near edge devices helps to protect these devices against attack and can enhance performance and operational efficiency. However, edge security requires the ability to decentralize major security capabilities so that they can be located geographically near these devices.
Cato SASE Cloud offers companies enterprise-grade security at the network edge with a global Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) network. Device traffic is inspected and secured at the nearest SASE location, eliminating the need to backhaul traffic to the corporate data center. To learn more about enhancing your edge security with Cato SASE Cloud, book a demo.