Lean On Trusted And Proven Security Principles For Edge Security

IT leaders have no shortage of priorities to balance as they position their organizations for resiliency and growth. And one of the hotspots for growth and transformation is the Edge.

Security is top of mind for IT leaders, no matter where the infrastructure sits: data center, branch location or at The Edge. While the details shift depending on location, Lumen’s Beth Kohler says the basic security principles apply: data and applications must be confidential; integrity of data and applications must be maintained; and they must be available.

And she should know: she’s the Senior Director of Product Management for Global Security Products at Lumen. She spoke with IDG’s senior content strategist Jim Malone in Episode 4 of Lumen’s podcast series. Kohler explained why Lumen’s platform approach works, and the importance of policies in building a resilient security strategy at the Edge.

“All the same concepts and considerations that IT leaders have been struggling with over the past decade — they still apply,” Kohler said. “Edge computing is just changing how enterprises are doing that by introducing new physical environments, new types of devices, and then new consumers of those devices.”

Kohler says a new convergence of IT teams and Operations teams is forging new security practices. While operations historically managed physical devices like forklifts and pumps, many of those machines are now “smart” devices and constitute an Edge component.

“Edges have always existed, whether it’s a desktop or a laptop or terminal,” she said.  “The new element here is just the amount of these operational devices. You really have to be thinking about this and applying the same practices, and if you don’t, you will just open up your environment to more vulnerabilities.”

Listen to this episode below.