As organizations continue to incorporate IoT devices and support remote working by allowing employees to use personal mobile devices, securing enterprise mobility has become critical in modern business operations. Mobile devices connecting to networks often lack compatibility with traditional security solutions such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) or endpoint security tools, introducing numerous security challenges and lifecycle management considerations.
Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are at the forefront of this challenge. These service providers are tasked with ensuring optimal connectivity and user experience while safeguarding data privacy. As the market for basic connectivity services becomes increasingly commoditized, operators are compelled to explore new sources of revenue, and offering security capabilities as a value-added service presents a promising opportunity.
However, delivering these security services creates yet another challenge for operators because of the limitations of traditional security architectures in meeting the needs of a remote and mobile workforce.
Traditional approaches are insufficient
Many IoT devices act as “closed box” systems and do not support traditional security clients or agents being installed. This not only complicates security functionality deployment across these devices but also creates potential security vulnerabilities. In many cases, the required security controls from organizations create a heavy bandwidth load on devices that were designed to be lightweight and low compute.
Considerable challenges also arise due to the operational intricacies and increasing expenses associated with overseeing multiple devices, operating systems, and user profiles. The traditional approach, which relies on software clients for security and access, results in fragmented security measures that are difficult to scale and manage. To accommodate these agent-based security solutions, expensive firewall appliances are often needed to manage the large number of access routes created by these devices.
These challenges highlight the need for a new approach that offers a scalable, comprehensive, and efficient security solution to meet the needs of mobile operators and their evolving user base.
The advantages of SASE integration with SIM
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) offers a transformative approach to network security for mobile operators by integrating advanced networking capabilities with comprehensive security services in a single, unified framework.
SASE is designed to address the dynamic access needs of modern enterprises by combining wide-area networking (WAN) capabilities with network security functions, such as cloud access security brokers (CASB), firewall as a service (FWaaS), secure web gateways (SWG), and Zero Trust network access (ZTNA). This approach enables organizations to securely connect users, applications, and devices, regardless of their geographical locations, to ensure a seamless and secure access experience across the distributed digital landscape.
However, operators need to consider some limitations when applying SASE within mobile networks. Many mobile and IoT devices are unable to support traditional security clients, complicating their integration into a SASE framework and introducing complexities in lifecycle management.
To overcome this challenge, a new approach has been introduced that integrates SASE with subscriber identity module (SIM) technology. By leveraging SIM-based identity, “SASE on SIM” provides access control and robust authentication within mobile networks. This SIM-based approach applies SASE’s dynamic security policies directly to mobile and IoT devices to extend security services without requiring traditional security clients.
SASE on SIM functions by routing traffic from SIM-enabled devices through a SASE architecture and applying comprehensive policy enforcement and security checks before reaching its destination. This approach ensures that only authorized and authenticated devices can access network resources, a method which significantly enhances security. Utilizing SIM-based identity also streamlines the authentication process, making it more secure and user-friendly.
The benefits of SASE on SIM for mobile operators
The key advantage of SASE on SIM is its ability to offer agentless, scalable, and secure connectivity while also conserving bandwidth by avoiding the need for individual tunnels to be created through VPN clients. It eliminates the requirement for separate private access point names (APNs) for each organization, reducing operational complexities and simplifying the network architecture. This integration directly addresses the critical connectivity and security challenges MVNOs and MNOs face. At the same time, it aligns with the evolving needs of modern enterprises by delivering a secure, scalable, and efficient solution to support today’s diverse and mobile workforce.
This new approach greatly improves security by combining SASE’s comprehensive security services with SIM’s strong authentication capabilities. As a result, organizations ensure the consistent application of security policies at the network edge, close to user devices, for more advanced protection against cyberthreats and unauthorized access.
SASE on SIM also complements the Zero Trust security model, which follows the principle “never trust, always verify.” These solutions maintain a strict security stance by continuously verifying every user and device seeking network access, regardless of their location. This reduces the attack surface and risk of data breaches, ensuring mobile operators can deliver secure, efficient, and user-friendly connectivity experiences. This approach ensures the essence of built-in security measures within today’s mobile ecosystem, aligning seamlessly with Zero Trust principles.
By combining the ubiquity and reliability of SIM-based authentication with SASE’s dynamic security capabilities, mobile operators can address the evolving needs of the enterprise mobility landscape, ensuring scalability, security, and operational simplicity. This not only solves the pressing challenges of today’s mobile ecosystems, it also offers an avenue for value-added services and paves the way for a future where seamless and secure connectivity can be sustained.
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