Versa Networks Introduces LAN with Zero Trust & IoT Security
Versa Networks has announced Versa Secure SD-LAN – the industry’s first software-defined branch and campus Local Area Network (LAN) solution to deliver Zero Trust and IoT Security natively at the LAN Edge. This software-defined approach makes campus and branch networks more agile and integrated, and Zero Trust improves the security posture.
For years, enterprises have grappled with the limitations and vendor lock-in from traditional LAN solutions. Legacy LAN architectures create painful operational challenges and cannot meet the evolving business needs of a secure modern enterprise. These issues are driven by the need to stitch together a fragmented set of point products, rigid architectures that lack business flexibility, and disjointed box-by-box configuration and management that is onerous and error-prone. In addition, product refresh cycles continually force upgrades and migrations that are expensive and time-consuming.
Traditional LAN architectures continue to use outdated perimeter-oriented security that implicitly trusts users and allows them to access all resources on the network. If a threat actor or a ransomware-infected device is able to initially authenticate, it can move laterally and compromise other devices on the network. This approach runs counter to today’s security best practices which apply Zero Trust and continuously authenticate users while limiting access to only necessary resources. The rise of IoT devices further expands this unsecured internal attack surface area.
Versa Secure SD-LAN brings a software-defined approach to the LAN to improve agility and security. The solution deploys Versa software on Ethernet switches and access points to deliver integrated switching, routing, security, and network services. Versa Secure SD-LAN can co-exist and interoperate with existing campus or branch LAN products from other vendors. Versa Secure SD-LAN extends Versa’s Unified SASE platform capabilities into the LAN Edge.
The solution provides user, device, and application awareness combined with a centralized policy repository to give enterprises full visibility and control across the branch or campus network, including OT and IoT devices. This approach enables every switch and access point to become a Zero Trust enforcement point that continually assesses the security posture of users, devices and the network to identify internal and external threats and stop the spread of potential attacks.
