SASE vs. Zero-Trust or SASE & Zero-Trust?

The growth of cloud computing, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and remote working is changing network architecture. Companies must ensure that diverse device communities are secure and protect cloud-hosted data that resides outside traditional network perimeters.

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) have emerged to solve these problems. To put it briefly, SASE is a broader cloud-delivered framework that combines networking and security services, including ZTNA. Zero Trust, on the other hand, is a strategic framework that’s also a core component of SASE that restricts access to resources, requiring verification at every step rather than assuming everything inside the network is secure.

SASE and Zero Trust are often seen as competing ideas. However, they are natural allies and should form complementary aspects of a modern cloud security system. Let’s now explore these two frameworks, Zero Trust and SASE, and how they work together.

What is SASE?

Secure Access Service Edge is a network security approach designed to lock down remote devices, offices, IoT sensors, and cloud-based data. Rising to popularity during the COVID pandemic when remote work rapidly multiplied network endpoints, Secure Access Service Edge simplifies traditional network architecture, making security seamless and centralizing management. SaaS and the IoT have sustained this growth, making SASE a popular option for modern network security and allowing secure remote access.

The key SASE elements include SSE (Secure Service Edge) and Wide Area Network (WAN-edge).

• WAN-edge refers to the part of a computer network that bridges the gap between diverse locations or offices over a Wide Area Network (WAN). It ensures unhindered and secure data passage from point A to B, like highways facilitate travel between cities.
• SSE aims to deliver secure and dependable access to applications and services for users, regardless of their geographic location or devices.

In turn, SSE unifies various security functions under the umbrella of a centralized cloud system:

• Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA): Emphasizes granular, context-aware access controls requiring that every user and device be authenticated and authorized before accessing any resource, regardless of their location or network. By following this principle, ZTNA ensures the network is open only to the right individuals and devices.
• Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS): Cloud-optimized firewalls screen traffic to block unauthorized access, harmful attacks, and other potential threats, enabling network micro-segmentation.
• Secure Web Gateway (SWG): SWG solutions filter unwanted software or malware from user-initiated internet traffic and enforce company and regulatory policy compliance. SWG solutions also offer encryption and IP masking to prevent users' sensitive identity information from exposure.
• Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB): CASB solutions safeguard sensitive data, providing clear visibility into your data's activity across various cloud applications and informing you about who's accessing it and how it's being utilized.

It’s also worth remembering that SASE is more than just a security solution—it's a holistic approach to network protection. At its core are various elements, each serving a distinct purpose in safeguarding your organization's digital assets. One of these components is ZTNA, a critical layer focusing on multi-layered authentication. Zero Trust principles fortify your network security, ensuring only authorized access and mitigating risks effectively.

The principal goal of SASE in the network

Secure Access Service Edge aims to secure networks while simplifying network architecture and boosting efficiency. It combines hardware-based network systems (SD-WAN) with cloud-based alternatives (SSE).

When it comes to SSE solutions, traffic is no longer back-hauled via central data centers and flows to security tools close to cloud applications. Cloud-optimized traffic flows eliminate network bottlenecks, making remote access smoother.

Security policies apply throughout the network, not just at the perimeter. Authentication is needed when users access all cloud resources. Firewalls enable precise network segmentation to limit east-west movement. Secure web gateway solutions ensure secure internet browsing. The result is security that protects cloud architecture without compromising user experience.

What is Zero Trust?

ZTNA solution is a security framework built on multilayered authentication. It emerged as a response to the rise of cloud-based SaaS tools and remote or hybrid working. Zero Trust model’s rule, "Never trust, always verify," stresses the rigorous identity verification process from many perspectives. This approach ensures enhanced network security.

Networks engineered on Zero Trust principles do not confer trust until systems authenticate users. When access systems grant authorization, users can access the resources they need. Until then, their ability to roam freely across network infrastructure is limited.

ZTNA has become a popular security paradigm since the publication of NIST SP 800-207, Zero Trust Architecture, in 2018. This document outlines the governance and compliance requirements for a ZTNA configuration and informs many network security transformations worldwide.

The key role of Zero Trust in the network

Why do we need ZTNA solutions for network security? Older moat and castle security models are now irrelevant. Network perimeters reach into multiple cloud-based SaaS applications across dispersed geographic environments. They extend into every device used by a remote workforce.

Zero Trust model assumes that threats exist both inside and outside the network perimeter, so it authenticates users as they navigate complex network architectures.

Since in a Zero Trust architecture, access to resources is granted through strict identity verification, security teams can secure sensitive data on cloud storage services and detect unauthorized agents on networks before they cause harm, and they can accommodate rapidly changing network endpoints.

Since remote work has become inevitable, organizations face an increased risk of unauthorized persons using unattended employee devices to access the company's sensitive resources. Periodic authentication can help mitigate this risk by requiring users to re-authenticate regularly, strengthening security, protecting sensitive information, and ensuring overall secure network access.

How does SASE differ from Zero Trust?

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SASE is a suite of security technologies that locate security close to users and applications. Cloud-based security tools operate wherever users, devices, and apps come together. This contrasts with older approaches, which focus on basic perimeter security.

Implementing Secure Access Service Edge requires retooling existing security stacks and implementing some tools to establish security policies that haven’t been there before. It is best conceptualized as a long-term security goal, not an off-the-shelf solution.

Zero Trust is an approach to network security focused on controlling user access. Zero Trust Network Security is often a requirement for a robust SASE implementation. It is a component of wider security solutions and often performs a complementary role to SASE tools.

SASE and Zero Trust: two pieces of the same puzzle

Seeing SASE and Zero Trust as competing concepts is not helpful. Instead, the two security concepts are blended together when seeking network security solutions.

Think of SASE and Zero Trust as ideas contributing to a security vision. They are part of a mindset based on dynamic perimeters, user authentication, segmentation, and the protection of cloud-based assets.

SASE seeks to minimize complexity and re-engineer networks to reflect cloud transformations. ZTNA focuses on multi-layered authentication. It focuses on a more complex threat environment, offering simple solutions beyond traditional security measures.

There is no need to see friction between Zero Trust and SASE. They are two pieces in the same puzzle, and network security teams need to harness both.

How SASE and Zero Trust support each other

Zero Trust security is the foundation of SASE architecture. It focuses on user identification, authentication, and monitoring. Security managers can add other aspects of SASE when ZTNA measures are in place. However, moving ahead with SASE makes no sense without a plan to create trust zones.

The Zero Trust model is a basis for visualizing security during transformation processes. Robust Zero Trust authentication systems facilitate the addition of cloud brokers and bring branches online without adding security risks. Planners can manage transitions to SASE, knowing users are properly tracked and limited to role-based resources.