May 2020 Summit #1: SASE at-the-Core - Content and Context with Next Gen SWGs

Transformations are disruptive by nature driving the need to review the challenges for cloud and web use in our organizations. Secure web gateways (SWGs) are also part of the disruptive transformation cycle we are all experiencing and becoming the core of SASE architecture to provide vital content and context for granular policy controls. Here are five areas to consider when updating your blueprint for securing web and cloud use. 1. The web is no longer just web, over half of secure web gateway (SWG) sessions are now cloud apps where the average organization uses 2,415 cloud apps and 89% of users are active in the cloud. Adding more fuel, over 98% of cloud apps are unmanaged by IT and freely adopted by business units and users. 2. Web content and filtering needs to advance to decoding cloud app traffic inline, or SWGs will remain blind to cloud content and context for real-time threat and data protection where 44% of threats were cloud-enabled in 2019. 3. The general allow/block model no longer works for cloud. Allow now requires granular controls such as understanding cloud app instances and activity to detect cloud phishing or cloud-enabled threats using trusted domains and valid certificates to evade legacy defenses. 4. Appliance limitations are being replaced with cloud native platforms with on-demand performance and global scale. These microservice designed platforms are enabling an integrated SASE architecture with an understanding of data context and expanding capabilities to end appliance sprawl. 5. SWG control points for main and remote offices now must include a growing base of remote workers. For cloud SWG optimization, they require a hyperscale carrier grade access network providing the fastest round trip time possible. This eliminates the performance versus security trade-off and the uncertainties of the internet.