Navigating the New Normal: Securing Your Hybrid Workforce with Prisma Access

The way we work has fundamentally changed. The rise of the hybrid workforce and direct-to-application access has unfortunately left traditional security architectures struggling to keep up, significantly increasing our potential attack surface. Many cloud-based security offerings promise solutions but often deliver inconsistent and incomplete protection, sometimes even hindering user experience.

At Obscure Technologies, we understand these challenges, and we're committed to providing insights into solutions that can truly make a difference. That's why we want to highlight Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access, a platform we've seen delivering robust security and a seamless experience for today's distributed teams.

Prisma Access: A Foundation for Secure Hybrid Work

Prisma Access is a purpose-built, cloud-native security service edge (SSE) platform designed to secure hybrid workforces at scale. It’s not just another bolt-on; it’s a unified product built from the ground up to protect all internet, SaaS, and private application traffic with best-in-class, cloud-delivered security services and comprehensive data protection.

Key benefits we've observed with Prisma Access include:

• Superior Security with Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA): Prisma Access employs a ZTNA approach that combines fine-grained, least-privileged access with deep and continuous security inspection. This ensures that every user, device, application, and piece of data is protected by continuously verifying trust and only granting necessary access. This significantly reduces the attack surface.

  
  

• Unified and Efficient Management: One of the most compelling aspects is the single, unified product with single-pane-of-glass visibility. This provides consistent policy management and shared data across all users and applications, simplifying security operations and saving valuable time and resources. Furthermore, it can be centrally managed alongside Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls through Panorama.

  
  

• Exceptional User Experience: Security shouldn't come at the expense of productivity. Prisma Access is built with a truly cloud-native architecture that ensures uncompromised performance backed by industry-leading Service Level Agreements (SLAs). This means your teams can work efficiently without frustrating delays.

  
  

• Comprehensive Security Capabilities: Prisma Access consolidates a range of best-in-class security functions into a single SSE platform. This includes:

  • Firewall as a Service (FWaaS): Offering the full functionality of Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) for inbound and outbound protection.

    
    

  • Cloud Secure Web Gateway (SWG): Protecting users from threats when accessing the internet and SaaS applications with flexible connectivity options. This is integrated with Next-Generation CASB and includes advanced threat prevention, URL filtering, DNS security, and DLP. Remote browser isolation (RBI) is also supported.

    
    

  • Next-Generation Cloud Access Security Broker (NG-CASB): Providing proactive visibility, real-time data protection, and best-in-class security for both sanctioned and unsanctioned SaaS applications. This helps detect compromised accounts, prevent data loss, and resolve misconfigurations.

    
    

• Consistent and Secure Access: Prisma Access ensures consistent and secure access to all applications, whether they reside in the cloud, your data centre, or on the internet. It supports various connection methods for hybrid and mobile users, including the GlobalProtect app.

Extending Security to Every Endpoint: The Power of Prisma Access Browser

The increasing use of unmanaged devices, such as personal devices under Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies and devices used by contractors, presents a significant security challenge. Traditional solutions like managed laptops or extensive Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) deployments can be costly and impact user experience.

Prisma Access Browser offers a truly innovative solution by providing the industry's only SASE solution with a natively integrated secure browser. This allows for the creation of a secure workspace on any device in minutes.

The key benefits we see with Prisma Access Browser include:

• Securing Third-Party and Contractor Access: It delivers enterprise-grade security to contractors on their unmanaged devices, providing organisational control and visibility over their interactions with applications and data. This ensures compliance and reduces the cost and complexity of traditional solutions.

  
  

• Enabling Secure Employee BYOD: Employees can securely access corporate applications from their personal devices within a compliant framework, offering flexibility without compromising organisational security and potentially eliminating the need for traditional device management solutions.

  
  

• Providing Secure Access to Critical Web Apps: Prisma Access Browser shields sensitive web applications from web-based and internal attacks, even on compromised endpoints across all devices.

  
  

• Significant Cost Savings: Organisations can potentially achieve 85% savings compared to shipping laptops and 79% total cost of ownership (TCO) savings compared to VDI.

  
  

• Comprehensive Device Security: It enables security coverage for up to 100% of devices, eliminating gaps in security programs.

  
  

• Enhanced Security Features:

  • Extends Zero Trust to the Browser: Incorporating ZTNA principles directly within the browser with continuous trust verification and security inspections.

    
    

  • Creates a Secure Workspace: Safeguarding browser assets, runtime, and surface area against vulnerabilities and attacks. This includes the encryption of browser assets and protection against keyloggers, screen scrapers, and memory tampering.

    
    

  • Enforces Rigorous Device Posture Checks: Before granting access, ensured compliance and mitigated risks.

    
    

  • Integrates Just-in-Time Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Providing an extra layer of security for sensitive actions.

    
    

• Browser-Based Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Directly integrates DLP within the browsing environment to prevent unauthorized sharing, transfer, or leakage of sensitive information. This includes dynamic masking of sensitive data, blocking screenshotting and copy/paste, managing file transfers with encryption, and restricting downloads/uploads based on content and source.

  
  

Looking Ahead: Secure and Productive Hybrid Work

From our perspective, Prisma Access, particularly when combined with the innovative Prisma Access Browser, represents a significant step forward in enabling secure and productive hybrid work. The unified management, superior ZTNA security, and the ability to extend robust protection to any device offer a powerful and efficient solution to the evolving challenges of enterprise security.

If your organisation is navigating the complexities of securing a hybrid workforce, we encourage you to explore the capabilities of Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access. It's a solution that can help you embrace the new normal with confidence.

For more detailed information, you can refer to the Palo Alto Networks resources available at: https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/prisma-access-browser