Best Microsegmentation Solutions

When beginning the process of moving to a microsegmentation solution, it is important to be vigilant and painstakingly thorough to ensure that nothing is missed in the process and to avoid any avoidable issues.

1. Know your traffic - Microsegmentation is complete transparency of ALL traffic flow - north-south and east-west. You will need to work with your IT team and perhaps look at third-party solutions to get a complete understanding of the current appropriate ongoing communication and active productive connections between workloads. This will facilitate the identification of unnecessary connections which need to be closed.

1. Identify your segments - Next, you will want to identify your segments. The most common ones are function, location, class, security threat, and distinction. These identifiers will help with regulating communication flows throughout your workflows. These identifiers or tags will help when adding third-party solutions and scalability. They will also play a big part with increased security options as you make changes to your plan.

1. Establish concise security protocols - You will want to identify the level of threat risk that is unique to your organization and the microsegmentation attributes you have created. These protocols should be extremely thorough and address every type of communication flow and every device with access to your network and how they will all relate to each other. You will want to take a deep dive into your entire ecosystem to ensure every workflow has been considered. The zero-trust concept must be applied and all traffic must be identified, categorized, and verified to securely reduce the chance of any threat to your organization. Within the zero-trust concept, any unknowns must be denied access and considered a potential threat risk.

1. Scalability is a must - Organizations are growing and changing - sometimes, daily. You need to create the option to make adjustments and adapt to changes as your organization changes. Complete workflow transparency allows for immediate identification of changes in workflow and complete awareness of any changes to the threat surface. You will want your system to be able to identify new workloads and auto-tag them with known identifiers.

1. Implement your plan - Start slow. You want to roll out your plan slowly and with solid communication to all members of your project team, (security, tech, architect, etc). It’s best to start small, test your plan, gain feedback, test again, then add new workloads to your rollout plan. During every step in your rollout process, you want to ensure protocols are workable and being followed consistently. If any problems develop, it is important to address them immediately and make the necessary adjustments to your plan, communicate the changes to the team, and continue to the next segment based on your set priorities. Once the entire rollout is complete, continue to regularly follow up to make certain all protocols are being satisfied and everything is working according to plan.

Microsegmentation Software enhances network security by dividing your network into smaller, isolated segments. This segmentation allows for more granular control over network traffic, helping to prevent unauthorized access and lateral movement of threats within the network. By enforcing strict access controls and monitoring traffic continuously, it reduces the attack surface and enhances security posture.

When evaluating Microsegmentation Software, look for features such as centralized management, real-time visibility, automated policy creation, and compliance reporting. The ability to integrate seamlessly with existing network infrastructure and cloud environments is crucial for flexibility. Additionally, ensure the software supports advanced threat detection and response capabilities to strengthen your security framework.

Yes, Microsegmentation Software can be effectively implemented in hybrid cloud environments. It provides consistent security policies across on-premises and cloud resources, offering visibility and control regardless of where your data resides. This capability is essential for organizations looking to maintain a secure posture while leveraging the benefits of hybrid cloud architectures.

Microsegmentation Software positively impacts compliance by ensuring strict access controls and detailed auditing capabilities. It enables organizations to meet regulatory requirements by demonstrating that sensitive data is adequately protected. The software's ability to log and monitor network activity aids in compliance reporting, making it easier for businesses to adhere to standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS.

Businesses can measure the ROI of Microsegmentation Software by evaluating improvements in security metrics such as reduced breach incidents and lower incident response times. Cost savings from minimized data loss and regulatory fines, coupled with increased operational efficiency, also contribute to ROI. By protecting critical assets more effectively, businesses often find a compelling financial justification for their investment.