Security Service Edge (SSE) solutions
Secure business data, resources, and all users in your network with a complete SSE solution. The Security Service Edge (SSE) framework strengthens business security by combining user-centric authentication, granular access control, and seamless cloud integration to enable organizations to protect their assets across any environment.
OVERVIEW
What is Security Service Edge (SSE)?
Secure Service Edge (SSE) is a framework that outlines multiple measures to secure and protect a business network, including robust threat protection. Network security solutions (FWaaS, CASB, SWG, and ZTNA) are combined into a single, cloud-native service via the SSE framework. By adopting these SSE solutions, businesses enhance their agility and capacity for preventing, identifying, and responding to network threats.
Benefits
SSE benefits

Enhanced security
SSE solutions provide a comprehensive security approach that combines prevention, detection, and response capabilities across various threat types, environments, and layers of the network stack. With features like Secure Web Gateway (SWG), Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB), and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), NordLayer delivers multilayered protection that adapts to modern threats.

Simplified security management
By consolidating multiple tools into a single, cloud-delivered platform, SSE simplifies the governance of enterprise security. NordLayer enables centralized policy management and visibility, reducing administrative overhead and ensuring consistent enforcement across all users and locations.

Scalability & flexibility
SSE solutions are built on cloud-native infrastructure, making them easy to integrate into hybrid IT environments. NordLayer allows organizations to scale security controls instantly as teams grow or shift—without hardware limitations or complex deployment processes.

Seamless yet controlled access
SSE provides secure, frictionless access to cloud, web, and private apps from any device or location. At the same time, it enforces granular access controls through zero trust principles, strong authentication, and continuous monitoring, ensuring that ease of access never comes at the expense of security.
Where to start?
Consolidate your SWG, FWaaS, and ZTNA capabilities by using a single SSE vendor.
This will create an opportunity to improve your organization’s agility and ability to prevent, detect, and respond to cyber threats and reduce costs.
Start implementing the SSE framework today, or contact our specialist if you have any more questions.
SSE USE CASES
Align the SSE implementation with your business
The Security Service Edge (SSE) framework helps businesses control access to cloud and web services across users, locations, and devices. NordLayer supports access control mechanisms like ACLs and role-based policies to manage who can access specific tools and environments.
To ensure a secure browsing experience, NordLayer includes DNS filtering to block malicious websites and unwanted content, along with Download Protection to prevent harmful files from reaching user devices.
For any user accessing services from any device, Security Service Edge (SSE) contains a centralized solution to detect and prevent threats emerging from web and cloud services.
NordLayer supports threat detection and mitigation with features like Device Posture Security, which lets organizations enforce device-level security rules and block access if requirements aren’t met. Additionally, NordStellar––Nord Security’s threat intelligence platform––helps identify and respond to emerging threats by analyzing malicious indicators in real time.
Remote access can be a major challenge—employees often struggle to reach internal resources when working off-site. The SSE framework addresses this by first enabling reliable remote connectivity, then securing through layered protection.
Vendors like NordLayer combine remote access technologies such as Business VPN and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) with tools like Secure Web Gateway (SWG) to ensure that employees can connect to the resources they need––easily, securely, and from anywhere.
Controlling access to sensitive data is essential for minimizing risk and maintaining compliance—especially across diverse user groups like employees, third-party administrators, and business partners.
Security Service Edge solutions like those from NordLayer support this through components such as Firewall as a Service (FWaaS). NordLayer’s Cloud Firewall enables organizations to define and enforce access policies based on user identity, role, and context—ensuring that only authorized individuals can reach specific network resources. All user identities are verified before permissions are granted, making access both seamless and secure.
SSE CAPABILITIES
Why choose NordLayer as your SSE vendor?
Free guide: learn what NordLayer offers & how to set it up in minutes
OUR INSIGHTS
SSE Resources
Additional info
Frequently asked questions
Security Service Edge (SSE) represents the security-focused portion of the broader Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) model. SSE delivers a cloud-native approach to access control, threat prevention, data protection, and policy enforcement—without requiring physical infrastructure. These software-based solutions are easily deployable and compatible with hybrid networks, making them ideal for modern, distributed organizations. SASE includes everything SSE offers but also incorporates SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Networking), which is often used when organizations require optimized connectivity across physical sites or need hardware-based network routing. However, not every company needs full SASE. Many businesses benefit from SSE alone, depending on their structure and connectivity needs—using SD-WAN doesn't necessarily mean stronger security, just different network optimization requirements. Originally introduced by Gartner in 2019, SASE is a cloud-delivered architecture that unifies security and networking functions—combining components like CASB, FWaaS, SWG, and ZTNA with SD-WAN for scalable, secure access across enterprise environments.
Firstly, using a single vendor for SSE is preferable since it may help you avoid issues like complicated policy administration, managing numerous user interfaces, and potential architectural conflicts.
Second, rather than hardware-based SSE platforms, complete cloud-delivered SSE platforms should be prioritized. By thoroughly examining each service and making sure it is supplied via the cloud, you can save appliance costs, use the cloud to expand automatically as needed, and provide a better user experience since there are more points of presence (some SSE services run on the backbone of AWS and GCP).
Additionally, choosing an SSE platform that provides ZTNA with inspection would make the IT team’s life much simpler. IT must be able to see what apps are accessed by staff members and outside users, what they download, and what actions they do when using an app. IT security teams won’t be able to get this crucial visibility via zero trust network access (ZTNA) services that lack inspection. They will also struggle to modify access privileges in response to context-based changes.
SSE addresses the fundamental security challenges of remote work, digital business enablement, and cloud transformation. As the adoption of SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS grows, there is more data outside of the data center, users are increasingly working remotely, and the VPNs are slow and often easily exploited. All of this is difficult to secure using legacy network architectures.
- SSE enables easier acceptance and implementation of policies across on-premises, cloud, and remote work environments by lowering cost and complexity.
- SSE’s ZTNA feature aids in providing granular resource access, allowing suitable degrees of access for each user, wherever.
- SSE’s SWG capability contributes by acting as an inline cyberbarrier, monitoring web traffic and prohibiting unwanted activity.
- SSE’s CASB capabilities enable multi-mode support by imposing granular controls to monitor and govern access to sanctioned and unsanctioned cloud services.
- SSE’s DLP feature provides a consolidated and unified approach to data protection in which data classifications are defined once and deployed across online, cloud, and endpoint policies.
Firewall as a Service (FWaaS) is a core component of the Security Service Edge (SSE) framework. Delivered entirely through the cloud, FWaaS enables organizations to implement network segmentation strategies without relying on physical hardware. By enforcing granular access control rules (ACLs) based on user identity, role, or context, it helps limit access to only necessary resources—minimizing lateral movement within the network if a threat occurs.
FWaaS also inspects traffic at the network edge, blocks malicious activity, and integrates with other SSE capabilities such as ZTNA, CASB, and SWG. This makes it a critical building block in reducing risk, simplifying security management, and protecting distributed environments.
By leveraging technologies such as Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), part of Security Service Edge (SSE) solutions. Rather than relying on traditional perimeter-based models, ZTNA enforces secure user access based on identity, context, and predefined security policies. This means that access to private applications is granted only after a user or device has been authenticated and meets specific conditions, such as device health, location, and role within the organization. By applying granular access controls, businesses can restrict entry to sensitive internal systems, reduce lateral movement within the network, and minimize the attack surface. Unlike VPNs, which often provide broad network access, ZTNA and other SSE capabilities ensure users are granted access only to the specific apps they need, and nothing more. These controls can be centrally managed through a unified platform, making them scalable across remote and hybrid environments. Modern SSE platforms may also incorporate remote browser isolation, enabling users to browse the web safely without exposing internal systems to potential threats, adding another layer of defense. Combined with secure connectivity across all endpoints, these technologies work together to enforce access while maintaining performance and productivity. In addition, network access control tools often include continuous monitoring, adaptive trust levels, and logging features, giving IT teams full visibility into who is accessing what—and from where. This not only improves security posture but also supports compliance and auditing efforts. With network and security services delivered via the SSE framework, businesses gain the flexibility to protect private applications without sacrificing performance or usability.
DNS security is essential to a Security Service Edge (SSE) strategy because it protects one of the most fundamental—and frequently targeted—layers of internet infrastructure. Every time a user accesses a website or cloud service, a DNS request is made. If unprotected, this process becomes a prime entry point for threats like phishing, malware, botnets, and data exfiltration.
Within the SSE framework, DNS security is part of the Secure Web Gateway (SWG) component. It acts as a first line of defense by blocking access to known malicious domains before a full connection is established—preventing users from reaching harmful destinations and reducing the risk of endpoint compromise.
DNS filtering also enhances visibility into user behavior and traffic patterns, allowing organizations to detect suspicious activity and prevent potential data leakage. This is particularly important for protecting sensitive information and enforcing acceptable use policies.
For a hybrid workforce connecting from various networks and devices, DNS security ensures consistent threat protection regardless of location. As part of an SSE strategy, it plays a critical role in maintaining secure internet access, shrinking the attack surface, and safeguarding users and data across all environments.