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The workplace is much different than it was even a few short years ago. Hybrid work has become the norm, blurring the boundaries between “in the office” and elsewhere, as employees seamlessly move between branches and campuses, their homes, and other locations. This has led to a proliferation of devices everywhere, including large campuses where employees increasingly use their personal devices at work and IT administrators implement more and more IoT devices to simplify operations and improve monitoring. In reality, these unmanaged devices come with unknown vulnerabilities, increasing exposure to threats and security breaches. Our recent Palo Alto Networks Unit 42’s IoT Threat Report found that 57% of IoT devices are highly vulnerable.
Campus networks are at the heart of many IT operations. They need to ensure that the access networks, including wired and wireless Local Area Networks (LAN), are protected and monitored with Next Generation Firewalls (NGFW) and Security Services Edge (SSE) for outbound access. Operators of such networks also rely on legacy switching technologies such as Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) for segmentation. However, this approach is vulnerable to MAC spoofing, where attackers can impersonate legitimate devices by replicating their MAC addresses. Moreover, VLANs create a broadcast domain that allows threats emanating from a single device to propagate throughout the entire logical segment.
Such technologies weaken the ability to monitor lateral movement within the network, allowing compromised devices to move freely and spread malicious activity, such as ransomware, putting the entire network at risk. As a result, IT administrators are forced to deploy localized security solutions with overly permissive policies based on the allow-and-ignore approach to segment networks and manually monitor their networks, significantly increasing operational complexity. Most importantly, this approach no longer works for the hybrid workforce, which is constantly on the move and IoT devices, which run unencrypted traffic and unsupported operating systems.
Organizations must move from a traditional approach of using point products like Network Access Control (NAC) to a more simplified and secure networking solution that effectively segments users and devices based on granular policy controls. They require a robust security solution to protect their hybrid workforce with zero trust and the ability to enforce security policies based on complete visibility, the isolation of devices, and a more granular segmentation approach across networks.
Palo Alto Networks Zero Trust Network Architecture
Palo Alto Networks delivers Zero Trust that leverages the principle of least privileged access based on true user, app identification, and device posture. This provides continuous trust verification even after access to the app has been granted, ensuring device posture or any changes to it, along with user and app behaviors are all continuously monitored and verified so we can respond to any changes or deviations in real time. It provides continuous security inspection for all application traffic, including for allowed connections to help prevent threats, including zero-day threats, while protecting data across all applications with a data loss prevention policy. Furthermore, it also identifies devices, including IoT with unique device-id to deliver secure, seamless, and optimized access while enforcing robust security policies. These best-in-breed security capabilities are provided by Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW) on-prem and in the cloud with cloud-delivered Security Services Edge (SSE) – Prisma Access.
“Partnering with Nile to integrate Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access further strengthens our best-in-class zero trust security that delivers continuous trust protection and verification to protect for all apps, users and devices at the branch and on campus. This collaboration demonstrates our dedication to being the preferred cybersecurity partner for our customers, guiding them towards enhanced security with secure LAN, WAN, and campus solutions.”
— Anupam Upadhyaya, Vice President of Product Management at Palo Alto Networks
The Nile Access Service
Nile is redefining branch and campus networks with a completely reimagined wired and wireless LAN that provides enhanced security, including granular access controls. The AI-powered Nile Access Service eliminates VLANs and delivers robust Layer 3 segmentation. Nile isolates each device by default to prevent vulnerabilities and denies lateral movement for unauthorized communication between two devices. This streamlined approach forwards all traffic to a centralized policy enforcement point for precise inspection and routing.
Elevating Enterprise Security with Palo Alto Prisma Access Integration and Nile
The integrated architecture between Palo Alto Networks NGFWs and Nile Access Service enables secure end-to-end networking for all organizations looking to deploy a resilient and enterprise-grade solution on their campus networks. This integration now extends to Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access to automatically connect and forward traffic to Prisma Access nodes in the cloud based on policies defined on Nile. Customers can now secure all local access with NGFW and all outbound access, including internet and private application access with Prisma Access, along with the following benefits.
- Network operation simplicity: Ability to apply more granular and uniform enforcement via device isolation that helps Identify and contain the blast radius of possible threats.
- Greater visibility: In-depth network and security insights for optimizing access enforcement based on the best path per application or connectivity type.
Scalability: Easily scale to accommodate growing networks, devices, and users and adapts to evolving enterprise needs without requiring complex reconfiguration or new integrations.
“At Nile, we’re revolutionizing enterprise security with campus Zero Trust solutions, eliminating legacy VLANs and enhancing protection with Layer 3 segmentation. Our integration with Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access ensures comprehensive, streamlined security across campus and cloud environments, improving protection and management efficiency.”
— Suresh Katukam, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Nile
As enterprise networks evolve with hybrid work, personal devices, and IoT, traditional security methods like VLANs and Access Control Lists (ACL) need to be improved. Modernizing security with cloud-based Security Service Edge (SSE) solutions and Zero Trust principles is essential. Nile’s innovative approach and Palo Alto Networks best-of-breed security address these challenges by offering unified security that bridges campus and cloud environments. This integration enhances protection, visibility, and efficiency, setting a new standard for securing today’s dynamic digital landscape.
Learn more about this Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access and Nile Access Service.
