Cyberoam, a provider of network security appliances, has launched what they term ‘the fastest & most affordable UTM (Unified Threat Management)” appliance for small and branch offices. The appliance aims to extend enterprise level network security to small and branch offices, making them future ready for security needs.
Managing security at remote offices and branch offices (ROBO) remains a unique challenge for enterprise IT and security service providers. Lack of on-site IT security staff and budgetary constraints further make it difficult to find security solutions that are adequate, cost-effective and easy to manage.
A report by Ponemon Institute revealed that many SMEs are at risk of cyber attacks mainly because managers have not prioritized cyber security.
“The Risk of an Uncertain Security Strategy study polled 2,000 SMEs globally, of which 58 percent of respondents said management does not see cyber attacks as a significant risk to their business,” the computer weekly reports.
The research by Ponemon Institute further states that 42 percent of the SMEs surveyed indicated budget constraints is also reason why smaller organisations fail to invest in cyber security.
In addition to SMEs, highly distributed branch-based organizations in retail, hospitality, financial services, government agencies and healthcare are prime candidates for attackers and need to beef up network security, remote access and employee productivity.
Target breach is a classic example of how poorly guarded small office networks are used as a gateway to attack large enterprise businesses.
“Several organizations have paid price for lax in security at their branch offices. While they deploy best security at their main office, hackers find their way into the networks by breaking the security at smaller offices. This is becoming even more frequent as the work-from-home culture is gaining greater acceptance; home office locations are rarely ready for modern day security challenges,” says Abhilash Sonwane, Sr. Vice President- Technology & Products, Cyberoam.
“CyberoamCR10iNGappliance is designed to bring small branch/home office security at par with corporate HQ.It enables secure VPN access for remote and mobile workers, letting them access business apps and servers securely,” Sonwane adds.
Cyberoam’s ability to centrally manage these deployments via a common platform will benefit the IT admins and MSSPs great deal.
While the awareness among small businesses has gone up, partly due to some high level data breaches being linked to small vendors, it is the dearth of security solutions that understand the needs of remote sites and smaller branches that aggravates the security situation.
