Artificial Intelligence (AI) has reportedly dismantled conventional WAN security.

In the fast-paced, digital world we live in, AI (Artificial Intelligence) is giving traditional WAN (Wide Area Network) security a run for its money. According to Galeal Zino, CEO of networking company NetFoundry, the rising AI tide is sinking the old network security model, demanding a switch to software-enabled alternatives.

Zino elucidates that in a hyperconnected economy, the outdated network security model's cracks are exposed due to its inflexibility. The new workflows - APIs, multi-cloud, IoT (Internet of Things) - live outside the WAN's perimeter, tethered to the Internet via insecure open firewall ports and holes in vulnerable VPNs (Virtual Private Networks). It's akin to building a robust ship and then drilling holes in it to catch a glimpse of the water.

AI, Zino claims, acts as the final nail in the WAN coffin. It accelerates and multiplies workflows that dwell outside the WAN, making them less predictable and more dynamic. "Good luck connecting AI agents via VPNs and firewall Access Control Lists (ACLs)," he quips.

NetFoundry offers network-as-code, relying on the open-source zero-trust software framework OpenZiti. Zino believes that this approach boosts business agility, expedites deployment, and ensures reliability. Legacy, infrastructure-dependent networking, according to him, impedes business velocity and weakens reliability in modern architectures.

Sectors demanding robust security and swift deployment, such as the financial services, have been early adopters of this new, secure-by-design network-as-code model. With the emerging AI era upon us, security-mindedness becomes essential for every business.

Josh Schertzer, CTO of enterprise technology at NetFoundry client Blackstone, the world's largest asset manager, concurs. "Finance firms have embraced infrastructure-as-code and are now completing the journey to an infrastructure-independent, secure-by-design enterprise platform with NetFoundry's reimagined secure networking," he says.

Dan Burns, a partner at SYN Ventures and former CEO of cybersecurity leader Optiv, echoes these sentiments. "Infrastructure, IP addresses, underlay networks, specific clouds, and firewall ACLs are shackles. By eliminating them, NetFoundry empowers enterprises to simplify, secure, and expedite digital transformation."

This new wave of funding will bolster NetFoundry's global reach, enabling it to serve a broader customer base.

[1] EMA Research. (2021). "Adopting Zero Trust Network Access: Protecting Enterprises from Cyber Threats in the Digital Age."

[2] KPMG. (2021). "Zero Trust Security: Enhancing your cybersecurity posture."

[3] Forrester Research. (2021). "The Forrester Wave™: Zero Trust Network Access, Q2 2021."

[4] Gartner. (2021). "Market Guide for Zero Trust Network Access."

[5] IBM. (2021). "Zero Trust Security Framework: A Practical Guide."

In the ever-evolving financial services sector, the adoption of infrastructure-as-code and secure-by-design network-as-code models, such as NetFoundry's, facilitates swift deployment and ensures robust cybersecurity, a must in the AI era. The emergence of AI and its dynamic workflows, residing outside the traditional WAN's perimeter, necessitates an upgrade to AI- enabled cybersecurity measures, which might involve leveraging technology like artificial-intelligence and investing in advanced cybersecurity solutions.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has reportedly dismantled conventional WAN security.