After taking over management of the customer’s network security environment, Verizon’s first task was to stabilise, standardise, and identify weaknesses in security rule sets and ensure cyber hygiene processes were embedded. Once this had been achieved, the Verizon team had a better understanding of the existing environment and could help the company take a more proactive approach to security. This was particularly necessary as the customer’s physical firewalls were approaching the end of their serviceable life as it had previously taken the organisation over three years to roll out and deploy them globally.
Because the business was already using Verizon’s global MPLS network, migrating to a SASE environment was the logical next step. SASE combines network access, traffic optimization, and security policies to give businesses a holistic and secure solution. This allowed them to detect security threats quickly and respond efficiently, giving users a consistent experience wherever they are. Zero trust network access was implemented, providing assurance that no ‘thing’ could access the network without being authenticated. It also allowed the customer to reduce its number of physical firewalls by leveraging cloud-based security services.
With a single policy framework, Verizon was able to help simplify and standardise security controls, improve visibility and reduce critical security incidents whilst improving business resilience that enabled a sustainable cloud transformation program to be deployed securely.”
– Claudio Testa, Security Solutions Executive, Verizon Business
In addition to helping the business keep track of any security vulnerabilities while building greater resilience, moving services to the cloud would help it meet rapidly shifting expectations for hybrid working. With human factors involved in 74% of data breaches, a solution that protected credentials and maintained the highest security standards across devices, sites and even countries was crucial.