Akamai Expanding Segmentation Solution to Hybrid Cloud

Akamai Technologies, a cloud company known for powering and safeguarding online activities, has announced the expansion of its segmentation solution, Akamai Guardicore Segmentation, to hybrid cloud environments. This extension aims to diminish attack surfaces and contain attacks directed at cloud-native workloads.

Network security experts can efficiently manage segmentation across public cloud environments, benefiting from quicker policy deployment, unified network governance across data centers, and simplified management through a single interface. Initially, Akamai Guardicore Segmentation will be accessible for Microsoft Azure deployments via Azure Marketplace, followed by availability for Akamai Connected Cloud later this year.

Thirty-three percent of IT decision-makers (ITDMs) intended to increase their use of distributed cloud services to improve security and reliability, according to a recent survey, commissioned by Akamai and conducted by ClearPath Strategies. However, nearly half (48%) of ITDMs claimed that security tools were missing or underdeveloped for a distributed cloud world, underscoring the need for better security tools to protect workloads in the cloud.

As organizations of varying sizes embrace public cloud strategies to drive innovation and efficiencies, they encounter persistent challenges. Adopting Akamai Guardicore Segmentation in the cloud enables organizations to tackle issues such as limited visibility into application behavior, the necessity for multiple policies across cloud providers, and governance discrepancies between DevOps and SecOps teams.

• The agentless cloud-native visibility and enforcement provide administrators with a comprehensive tool to visualize cloud workloads through a near-real-time interactive map of network flows. This enables them to grasp application dependencies, fostering collaboration between DevOps and SecOps teams in governing cloud network security. The solution empowers administrators to gain insights into the intricate network structures of cloud environments, facilitating proactive security measures and enhancing operational efficiency. By bridging the gap between development and security operations, it ensures robust governance and aligns with the dynamic nature of cloud deployments, ultimately fortifying the security posture and bolstering organizational resilience in the digital landscape.

• The hybrid enforcement engine utilizes various enforcement points, enabling organizations to easily articulate network policy intents. With Akamai Guardicore Segmentation, the policy engine dynamically determines the utilization of agent-based and agentless enforcement points across the data center, simplifying management. This approach streamlines policy definition, empowering administrators to focus on intent while the system handles implementation. By dynamically allocating enforcement resources, it optimizes network security without overwhelming operational overhead. This versatile system enhances adaptability, ensuring efficient utilization of both agent-based and agentless enforcement mechanisms, thereby bolstering data center security in a seamless, automated manner.

• Combined reputation analysis and threat intelligence firewall functionalities aim to minimize detection time and enhance incident response efficiency following a breach.

• The scalable and secure solution guarantees that data remains within your cloud environment, while the architecture automatically adjusts to accommodate scaling needs.