Shielding your network: The essentials of SD-WAN security

In today’s technology-driven world, the efficient functioning of digital systems is essential for businesses to boost. Traditionally, the WAN (Wide-Area Network) function was to connect user entities at the branch to applications hosted on servers in the data centre. But with time, this doesn’t work on cloud networking systems. 

In this blog, we’ll look at the transformational power of SD-WAN, why IT sectors or organisations need it today more than ever, and how it resolves the issues of traditional network architecture. 

Nowadays, emerging business models drive the need for the network model. SD-WAN can efficiently address the current IT challenges.

This new approach to network connectivity can mitigate high operational costs & improve resource usage for multisite deployments. Network administrators can effectively employ bandwidth to achieve high levels of performance for key applications while maintaining security and data privacy.

Understanding the security challenges in SD-WAN

Businesses are transforming to Software Defined Wide Area Networks (SD-WAN) to improve user-to-application connectivity as remote work models become more common and cloud infrastructure grows in popularity.

In today’s world, when cloud networking reaches its zenith, SD-WAN can provide a couple of benefits to the organisation if properly deployed and configured. Some of the most significant security risks that businesses face when working with SD-WAN include the following:

1. Security 

SD-WAN is a networking solution designed to optimise traffic routing by channelling it to the network edge. We may say that each SD-WAN endpoint can most effectively route traffic to the endpoint closest to its location using application-specific criteria.

Furthermore, SD-WAN and hybrid security solutions frequently lack the next-generation threat prevention capabilities required to safeguard against cyber threats. SD-WAN security requirements include combining SD-WAN’s network optimisation capabilities with a next-generation threat prevention solution.

2. Connecting users to applications 

In recent years, especially amid the pandemic, the adoption of cloud-based services and infrastructure has increased. As corporate resources and IT infrastructure move from the on-premises data centre to the cloud, SD-WAN network designs essentials efficiently and securely connecting users to private and public cloud applications. 

3. Optimising WAN to internet performance 

SD-WAN upgrades the performance and credibility of the corporate WAN by optimising traffic over multiple transport media. By monitoring various routes and selecting the best suited to meet an application’s requirements, SD-WAN can offer better performance over default routing mechanisms. However, the performance and credibility of SD-WAN are limited by the performance. 

4. Reducing costs 

Cost reduction is the primary motivation for many organisations or corporations to adopt SD-WAN.  One important selling feature of SD-WAN systems is that they enable a firm to achieve the network performance and dependability it requires while minimising its reliance on expensive Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) circuits.

Key components of SD-WAN security

SD-WAN was developed with all required IPsec standards—this layer of security grants advanced data encryption, packet authentication & more. 

IPsec is the best way to handle the traffic over the public internet. It protects your data by using several different components of it, that are:

● Internet key exchange – It is where a new Security Association (SA) is formed between the sending and receiving systems. 

● Authentication headers– IPsec adds validation headers to each packet of data. These headers confirm that data can not be transmitted. 

● Encapsulating security payload– It prevents data from being retransmitted, which is a common tactic used by hackers and other bad actors. 

Because SD-WAN operates in large part by establishing Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) that connect both the public Internet and private networks, IPsec is appropriate. IPsec has long been one of the key security features of VPNs.

Integration with Next Generation Firewalls (NGFW)

SD-WAN networks feature next-generation firewall technologies. This is the third generation of firewalls, which protects a front line against unauthorised access. Next-generation firewalls can not only verify the status of traffic entering or exiting the network, but they also provide many layers of protection.

In addition to the security features supplied by standard firewalls, next-generation firewalls can perform the following duties for WAN security:

● Application awareness and control 

● Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Inspection 

● Secure Shell (SSH) Control 

● Cloud-Delivered Threat Intelligence 

● Sandbox integration 

● Antivirus, Antimalware, Anti-Spam Support 

● Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) 

● Advanced web filtering

The ability to utilise and maintain next-generation firewalls natively will greatly simplify IT teams’ efforts to secure the network’s edge. This may be accomplished on both physical and virtual network points, which is critical when employing this type of networking solution.

Best practices for ensuring SD-WAN security

SD-WAN has the potential to improve the corporate WAN fiercely. However, SD-WAN only provides top performance if correctly configured and deployed, following these best practices: 

1. Limit the use of public internet links 

2. Imparting knowledge to stakeholders about SD-WAN 

3. Perform regular SD-WAN testing 

4. Deploy a secure SD-WAN solution 

Challenges and considerations in securing SD-WAN deployments

A global industry association, MEF, announced the winners of their 2023 Excellence Awards & celebrating companies operating digital transformation. Tata Communication emerged as a Global SD-WAN Managed Service Provider of the Year. 

In the crowd of cloud networking, SD-WAN is a valuable technology that inherits the ability to consolidate networking, reporting, security & management into one platform. However, the potential should be aware of the challenges and its deployment risk factors, and after consideration, they will be ready to mitigate them as IZO™ SDWAN did. 

Here, we need to know about the few main challenges in SD-WAN security deployment. 

● Selecting the right vendor, 

● Ensuring the mentioned provisions, such as network performance, 

● Cloud connectivity, 

● Cost management and model selection.

All of these challenges should be addressed efficiently and effectively to avoid any errors. 

Conclusion

SD-WAN technology has emerged as a crucial component in modern network architecture, offering centralised management of WAN edge devices across remote offices. By establishing logical connections between branch edge devices, SD-WAN creates secure paths across multiple WAN connections and applications. This approach not only optimises routing but also enhances security, a critical concern in today's digital landscape.In the context of SD-WAN security, Tata Communications' IZO™ SD-WAN solution stands out as a comprehensive offering. It addresses the security challenges inherent in connecting branches, data centres, and cloud environments in a single, secure ecosystem. The cloud-native platform's focus on application-aware routing and network agility aligns well with the security needs of businesses undergoing digital transformation.  Sign Up For A Free IZO™ SDWAN Trial today!