With employees accessing applications and data through hybrid work environments, organizations need a way to secure remote workers. You can do this by using a service edge. SSE is a cloud native architecture that combines networking and security services into a single platform. The unified policy allows for continuous security coverage of cloud, SaaS applications and private apps. Access Control Secure Service Edge (SSE) solutions are essential as more employees, partners, and customers access content, data and applications via the internet and mobile devices. SSE provides protection against malicious or unauthorized access. SSE also allows secure access to cloud, web and private applications. SSE is an integrated cloud-based platform for networking and security. This includes SD-WAN (software-defined wide area networks), firewalls-as-a-service, secure Web Gateways (SWG), the Cloud Access Security Broker, and Zero Trust Network access (ZTNA). It ensures consistent application and data security across locations and users, and provides centralized visibility. SSE also includes a zero trust approach to access control that is based on identity and never places users on the corporate network. It ensures reliable and fast WAN connections, without the use of a VPN. In addition, a robust defense-in-depth strategy for detecting and preventing malware and other threats is an important part of SSE. Threat Protection SSE protects internet sessions from threats, so users are able to connect securely with critical business apps no matter their location. This facilitates hybrid work, protects private and cloud data connectivity, speeds cloud migrations, simplifies integrations during M&As, and enables hybrid working by employees. Security services are delivered through a cloud platform which can track user-to application connections, irrespective of location or devices. This reduces the risk of a breach by removing gaps between point solutions and eliminating the need for manually updating traditional legacy appliances. Zero-trust access: SSE systems must allow the least privilege access, based upon a policy of zero trust, encompassing user role, behavior, device, content, and application. This protects against lateral movement while preventing applications from being found, reducing attack surfaces. SSE combines unified Threat Prevention capabilities with CASB & ZTNA Technologies to enforce policies on end users no matter what device or location they may be in. This can reduce the risk of malware, ransomware, and other threats if employees are using cloud applications or sensitive data that is not compliant with company policies. Data Security Protecting information is essential for organizations that allow remote and mobile workers to access data and applications via the internet. Secure service edges delivers security through the unification of web gateways (SWG), cloud-access security brokers (CASB), as well as zero-trust network access (ZTNA). SSE also provides centralized cloud Data Loss Protection (DLP) capabilities. This allows sensitive data, such as credit card numbers, to be classified, located and secured in one place. This can help support compliance policies, such as Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and GDPR. SSE products must also offer advanced threat prevention, such as cloud-based firewalls (FWaaS), CASB analysis of data stored in SaaS software, and adaptive security access control. Adaptive access control is a key element of SSE that identifies device posture and adjusts access as it changes. Monitoring When working with a secure service edge, it's important to monitor internet sessions. You can see how well your network performs and which apps are being used. Monitors can alert you to potential problems, allowing you to prevent them before they even occur. This can also help you improve your user experience and reduce costs. SSE platforms capable of inspecting web and data trafic on a large scale are critical. Vendors should have strong service-level agreement (SLAs), and experience evaluating inline traffic at major multinationals. The primary use case for a security edge is to enforce policies over cloud, internet and mobile access. It can be used to enforce corporate internet policies and access controls for compliance, or mitigate risk by blocking content and isolating malware.