Netskope has announced significant enhancements to Netskope Private Access, the zero trust network access (ZTNA), the cornerstone of Netskope’s security platform.
Netskope customers can now seamlessly apply zero trust principles to various hybrid work security needs, including SaaS, IaaS, private applications, web, email, and endpoint devices.
The new normal of hybrid work means enterprises are rapidly adopting the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) technology architecture. Key to SASE, ZTNA enables organizations to move from an outdated VPN for remote access to a modern infrastructure that is more efficient and secure.
Gartner predicts that by 2025, 70% of organizations deploying agent-based zero trust network access (ZTNA) will choose a security service edge (SSE) provider for ZTNA rather than a standalone offering by 20% by 2021.
By 2026, 50% of organizations will prioritize advanced data security features for inspecting data at rest and in motion as a selection criterion for SSE, up from 15% by 2021.
Netskope Private Access, which provides ZTNA services, is essential to the Netskope Intelligent SSE platform. It connects users everywhere, on any device, to corporate resources, constantly evaluates context, and adapts to mitigate risk. With today’s release, the same context has been extended to the enterprise data layer, leveraging Netskope’s unified DLP capabilities.
Data protection. Businesses can monitor and protect data in situations like third-party access and employee BYOD, preventing sensitive data from leaving the corporate environment.
Insider risk mitigation. Netskope Private Access monitors application and data usage, detects activity and behavioral anomalies using UEBA, and applies adaptive access policies based on user risk.
Hybrid work support. Netskope Private Access enables a secure connection to private applications without requiring users to authenticate to a Netskope client. This helps companies to quickly and efficiently hire new remote workers and ensure they can be productive on the first day of employment without creating security risks.
Application discovery. With enhanced application discovery capabilities in Netskope Private Access, network administrators gain granular visibility into private applications used by teams and the scope of individual users’ access and traffic patterns.
API automation. Netskope Private Access APIs automate administrative application installation processes, enabling efficient application access with adaptive access controls and policies and streamlining how teams perform ongoing maintenance and application management.
Easy accessibility from major cloud marketplaces. Publishers for Netskope Private Access are now available through the Microsoft Azure marketplace. Netskope Private Access Publishers are already available through the Amazon Web Services marketplace. Microsoft Azure cloud customers can easily select packages to deploy Netskope Private Access with their application environment.
“Businesses need data-centric ZTNA – period. Private applications often hold an organization’s most valuable information, including trade secrets and code repositories, and are an absolute must for comprehensive data protection capabilities,” said John Martin, chief product officer of Netskope.
“These major enhancements to Netskope Private Access greatly extend Netskope’s award-winning zero trust data protection capabilities, providing enterprises with multiple options for protecting information, from inspecting private application traffic to deploying DLP in high-risk use cases such as third-party access. And BYOD,” he says.
“Zero trust network access is all about optimizing the balance between enabling access and mitigating risk, and the most effective ZTNA solutions, including Netskope Private Access, help reduce the risk and exposure associated with legacy remote access VPNs.” reduce,” added Chris Rodriguez, director of research, security & trust, IDC.
“Businesses should be pleased to see that Netskope continues to innovate and has now added capabilities to strengthen data protection policies for the widest range of use cases, from SaaS to private apps.”
A hybrid work environment requires applying zero-trust principles to guide the behavior of users, devices, networks, applications, and data, increasing confidence in policy enforcement everywhere. Below zero trust, technological resources no longer place implicit trust in an entity that wants to connect.
By evaluating various contextual elements — user role and identity, device identity and security posture, time of day, and the sensitivity level of the data — the resource can determine an appropriate level of the trust itself or just for that particular interaction only for that specific resource. As a result, by leveraging Netskope Intelligent SSE with zero trust data protection, businesses become more agile, reduce risk and streamline application deployment and ongoing maintenance.