Edge computing has grown from being a niche use case in a handful of industries to offering a major opportunity for enterprises across industries to spread computing power around the world. Edge computing slashes latency times by processing data where the data is being collected, or when it might otherwise be impossible to process because a workload or piece of hardware is disconnected from the network.
Security and data protection are always top of mind when considering any advanced technology. This is especially true for edge devices or systems that stretch the enterprise perimeter and cannot be as easily managed by network administrators as on-premises or cloud system.
Red Hat worked with S&P; Global Market Intelligence to survey industry experts to better understand where edge deployments are in terms of maturity, scale, and security challenges. The State of Edge Security Report provides insights and best practices to allow businesses to benchmark themselves against peers and make better decisions when considering edge computing and edge security.
This report is based on a survey of over 300 respondents of engineering and security professionals from around the world.
Some key findings from this year's survey include:
1. Security is a top challenge with edge deployments.
2. Edge deployments are increasing in scale across investments, projects, use cases, endpoints, and types of endpoints.
3. Attacks on edge systems through vulnerabilities and misconfigurations are rising.
Most respondents shared that they plan to invest in existing and new edge projects over the next few years. That is a great strategy considering the agility and data processing they plan to add to their organisations. With these investments, edge use cases will continue to expand, and we will see even more exciting case studies from all sectors.
What about edge security concerns?
Edge computing increases your attack surface. While this is certainly a major concern, a thoughtful and comprehensive edge strategy will not only account for business value at scale, but also security for your entire edge ecosystem.
The top-ranked challenge for respondents was about data, network and device security, and physical/digital security. This challenge highlights where respondents think their edge efforts may be hampered as they scale and try new ways of working.
Red Hat learned that the top three security related concerns dealt with cyberattacks (inside and outside attackers) and vulnerabilities. Enterprises recognise the growing risks of edge infrastructure expansion. However, investment in tools and processes that harden your edge systems against attacks – including shift-left security, software supply chain management, and intrusion detection – can limit those risks, while you continue to reap the business benefits of edge computing.
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