- At RSA Conference, HPE Aruba Networking will focus on growing GenAI security threats by introducing new AI-powered network security controls
- HPE will introduce new AI-powered security observability and monitoring features with HPE Aruba Networking Central to help address IoT security risks
- Also part of the announcement, new firewall-as-a-service (FWaaS) capabilities within HPE Aruba Networking SSE to extend protection to data and devices without requiring an appliance
- News lineup includes newly integrated Secure Web Gateway (SWG) capabilities within the HPE Aruba Networking EdgeConnect portfolio to provide a turnkey solution for comprehensive protection
By Jon Green, HPE Aruba Networking Chief Security Officer
Generative AI and evolving threats are prompting security teams to rely on a new tool in their Zero Trust Security arsenal: the network. At RSA Conference 2024, HPE Aruba Networking leans on its legacy of secure networking as it expands its unique, built-in capabilities for activating Zero Trust Security throughout the enterprise—with new AI-powered network security controls to help security teams protect valuable AI assets from edge to cloud.
By combining AI-powered identity information and analysis, security policies, and edge-to-cloud enforcement, HPE Aruba Networking can help protect AI data, models, and applications at scale—a key consideration as AI assets throughout the enterprise increasingly become attack targets.
At RSA we will also be showcasing the benefits of a single-vendor SASE solution with the integrated Axis Security innovations. HPE CEO Antonio Neri called the combination of Axis Security and the HPE Aruba Networking portfolio the “most comprehensive edge portfolio in the industry,” commenting that “we are adding a consistent security framework with SASE which brings elements of the connectivity and the firewall with ZTNA, CASB and SWG. Axis Security addresses all of that together with HPE Aruba Networking, where you have our firewall, and obviously the most comprehensive connectivity layer, with the addition of private 5G (through our acquisition of Athonet) and Wi-Fi 7.”
Building security into network infrastructure goes back to our company’s roots, and we’ve aggressively doubled down on edge-to-cloud security since the Axis acquisition. Security-first, AI-powered networking is a position that we believe we command, and we are focused on bringing security and networking teams closer together, as demonstrated by the capabilities we are announcing today.
Adding comprehensive AI-powered observable security and behavioral analytics via HPE Aruba Networking Central
Much AI training data comes from unmanaged IoT devices. IoT devices are prone to web-based threats as they generate web traffic when they communicate with cloud services for updates, telemetry or other purposes. In addition, BYOD and line-of-business devices often appear on the network outside the purview of the IT organization and can become compromised without any alert or signal which can result in modern entry points for attack and AI poisoning from corrupted or manipulated data. New AI-powered IoT discovery and classification features within HPE Aruba Networking Central help address IoT security risks by providing enhanced visibility and identification of devices connected to the network and continuous monitoring for unusual or rogue behavior.
Building on the AI-powered profiling capabilities of HPE Aruba Networking Central’s Client Insights service, next-generation HPE Aruba Networking Central uses machine learning models to analyze dynamic device attributes, including traffic patterns and behavioral characteristics such as connection state and network residency, to accurately categorize and identify IoT and traditional devices. HPE Aruba Networking Central AIOps has a long history of building automated network activity baselines for troubleshooting and remediation and now we are using AI to extend that capability to individual devices. This enables not only more precise, automated fingerprinting to support Zero Trust Security, but also the ability to use behavior baselines to spot anomalies that can indicate compromise and attack.
AI-powered profiling joins other AI-powered capabilities that improve security. For example, HPE Aruba Networking uses AIOps and machine learning models to intelligently hibernate APs during periods of low activity, eliminating potential entry points for malicious activity and reducing attack surface.
Extending firewall security controls with HPE Aruba Networking SSE
As AI resources and applications become increasingly dispersed geographically and across cloud environments, security teams require greater flexibility in how and where to implement and enforce access controls and segment traffic.
New firewall-as-a-service (FWaaS) capabilities within HPE Aruba Networking SSE extend protection wherever data and devices are, without the expense or complexity of an appliance. Joining on-premises security controls delivered by built-in firewalls in HPE Aruba Networking switches, wireless access points, gateways, and WAN appliances, FWaaS completes edge-to-cloud firewall protection by providing policy enforcement in the cloud, driving increased flexibility, scalability, and performance. And since FWaaS capabilities are integrated with ZTNA, CASB, SWG, and DEM in the HPE Aruba Networking SSE service, security teams can easily manage all SSE services using a single UI and global policy.
New dashboards within HPE Aruba Networking SSE enhance visibility into the organization’s security status. Dashboards include views into applications in use, user activity, security events, and ZTNA adoption. Security personnel can use this information to identify shadow IT applications and reduce the associated risk of unauthorized access.
Integrating SD-WAN and SWG to accelerate SASE adoption
Two challenges frequently arise as network and security teams adopt single-vendor SASE solutions to protect distributed users, devices, data, and applications: ensuring IoT security and finding starting points for easy implementation.
Newly integrated Secure Web Gateway (SWG) capabilities within the HPE Aruba Networking EdgeConnect portfolio help teams address both challenges, providing a turnkey solution that delivers comprehensive protection from web-based threats for all types of users and devices—including unmanaged and IoT devices. Unmanaged and IoT device traffic is directed to HPE Aruba Networking SSE through EdgeConnect gateways using a dedicated tunnel, eliminating the need to install and manage a software agent.
SD-WAN augmented with SWG provides organizations enhanced protection with seamless and automated high-performance connectivity when implementing security controls at the premises edge and extended to cloud-based security services edge. From there it is easy to extend security services to include ZTNA and CASB for a full SASE solution.
HPE Aruba Networking Zero Trust access at work: Bethesda Health Group
In support of its increasingly mobile and tech-savvy workforce and resident population, Bethesda has transformed its operations to adopt a cloud-first strategy. With this transformation came the need for improved cybersecurity, and Zero Trust.
Already partnered with HPE Aruba Networking for wired, wireless, and SD-WAN (software-defined WAN) networking, Bethesda enhanced its infrastructure by adopting the fully cloud-delivered Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) platform and HPE Aruba Networking Security Service Edge (SSE). This solution consolidates multiple secure access capabilities into a single, easy to use, cloud service that automatically adapts policies based on changes in user, device, and application context.
According to Michael Keller, Director of Information Technology, Bethesda Health Group, “HPE Aruba Networking SSE provides us with the cybersecurity protections for creating a powerful, unified SASE platform that helps advance our cloud-first goals.”
