Edge computing security, or simply edge security, refers to the protection of data that resides or moves through devices away from centralized data center or cloud environments. The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, mobile devices, and disparate network points has created more security concerns for data than ever before and has made ensuring the privacy of consumer information and other sensitive data far more difficult.
As a result, edge security has presented additional challenges for security IT personnel that require agile attention to new threats and proactive measures to prevent hacking.
The security tools and processes deployed for centralized environments like corporate data centers and cloud environments are often not as well suited for more decentralized edge computing environments where devices tend to lack similar configurations and present different vulnerabilities.
Edge Security Tips and Best Practices for Corporations
In order to provide edge computing security, companies need to, at minimum, ensure all data that passes through corporate endpoints and/or stored on corporate devices be encrypted, and that connectivity at the edge utilizes both multi-factor secure authentication and SSL/TLS or similar enterprise-grade security.
Even with these measures, edge security can be compromised by a wide variety of issues such as zero-day vulnerabilities, unpatched operating systems, outdated software applications, weak log-in credentials, and more.
And with physical devices at the edge typically utilizing a more diverse range of operating systems and software apps, as well as needing remote management and monitoring, there s no shortage of edge security challenges for corporate security teams. This also makes edge security an increasingly popular and typically quite lucrative career path for IT professionals.
