As South African businesses navigate an increasingly connected digital landscape, securing networks from evolving threats has become essential. Cyber-attacks are more sophisticated and target a greater range of devices, from personal mobile phones to industrial IoT systems.
Warren Gordon, business unit manager at Duxbury Networking
This is where zero trust security (a model that assumes no user or device is inherently trustworthy) becomes critical. Recognising the complexity of zero trust adoption, HPE Aruba Networking provides AI-powered solutions that simplify the journey, making it easier for businesses to implement comprehensive, adaptable, and effective zero trust security.
Zero trust shifts from traditional perimeter-based security to a model where each access request is verified, and every device, user, and application must continuously prove its trustworthiness.
HPE Aruba Networking’s approach focuses on visibility, global policy enforcement, and AI-automated operations to build a seamless security infrastructure that provides continuous monitoring across all devices.
Enhanced visibility
At the core of zero trust is visibility. Without knowing what devices are on a network, protecting it becomes almost impossible. HPE Aruba Networking offers AI-powered device profiling and continuous monitoring through its security-first network infrastructure. With these features, IT teams can detect and profile every device, from IoT sensors to user laptops, providing a comprehensive view of potential vulnerabilities.
Imagine a South African retail company managing hundreds of connected devices, from security cameras to in-store kiosks. Aruba’s visibility tools enable the IT team to identify and monitor each device’s real-time behaviour, flagging anomalies that could signal potential security threats. By offering high levels of accuracy in device profiling, HPE Aruba Networking empowers businesses to address vulnerabilities before they escalate into security incidents.
Zero trust security frameworks rely heavily on consistent policies that follow users and devices no matter where they connect. HPE Aruba Networking’s global policy management allows businesses to define and enforce policies across all network endpoints, ensuring users have only the access necessary for their roles.
For example, a national financial services firm with branches across South Africa can implement policies that control access to sensitive financial data. These policies follow employees, whether they are working at the main office, a regional branch, or remotely. This unified policy approach eliminates inconsistencies, ensuring seamless security enforcement across all locations and enhancing data protection for both clients and employees.
Edge-to-cloud protection
Zero trust requires consistent security enforcement across the network—from edge devices to cloud applications. HPE Aruba Networking enables edge-to-cloud policy enforcement through AI-driven dynamic segmentation and firewall capabilities. This ensures that sensitive data is protected at every access point, preventing lateral movement of threats across the network.
For example, in a healthcare setting, Aruba’s solutions allow hospitals to segment traffic based on the type of device or user role. Medical devices can be isolated from administrative networks, ensuring that sensitive patient data remains secure, and access is limited only to authorised users. This edge-to-cloud control is vital for South African healthcare providers as they prioritize patient confidentiality and data protection.
AI-powered automation
In South Africa, where cybersecurity talent can be scarce, AI-automated operations make zero trust adoption manageable for resource-constrained IT teams. HPE Aruba Networking’s AI-powered tools provide real-time anomaly detection, automated incident responses, and predictive insights. These tools not only reduce manual intervention but also enhance threat detection accuracy, freeing up IT teams to focus on strategic tasks.
For a small to medium-sized business, these automated features translate into faster response times without requiring a full in-house security team. By reducing the dependency on specialised skills, HPE Aruba Networking enables even smaller businesses to access advanced security capabilities typically available only to larger enterprises.
As digital threats continue to rise, South African companies must adopt advanced security frameworks like zero trust to protect their operations and customers. HPE Aruba Networking’s solutions, available through Duxbury Networking, provide an all-in-one security-first infrastructure that supports the unique needs of local businesses, from retail and healthcare to finance and beyond.
With enhanced visibility, unified policy management, edge-to-cloud enforcement, and AI automation, HPE Aruba Networking enables South African businesses to accelerate zero trust adoption without overhauling their entire network. By integrating these solutions, companies can create a resilient, adaptable, and future-ready security foundation, empowering them to grow with confidence in an increasingly connected world.