Axis Security releases security service edge offering Atmos

Axis Security, a security service provider focused on zero trust, has launched Atmos, a cloud-native alternative to data center based, legacy network architectures and security service edge (SSE) platforms.

Short for Atmosphere, Atmos will seek to “harmonize the modern workplace connectivity” by syncing authentication, authorization, and connectivity across a company’s workforce, ecosystem partners, and hybrid cloud infrastructure with its new SSE architecture, according to the company.

“With the Atmos platform, Axis is evolving to deliver a full SSE service, beyond just Axis ZTNA (now included within the Atmos platform),” says Dor Knafo, CEO and co-founder of Axis Security. “Customers now have the ability to leverage an assortment of new capabilities including a new web gateway service, CASB and Digital Experience from Axis.”

The cloud-native platform will extend secure connectivity out to the user’s location through its 350 Atmos edge facilities running on the backbone of global cloud services such as AWS Global Accelerator, Google Cloud Platform, and Oracle.

Atmos rounds out SSE with added services

Axis Security has been a veteran zero-trust vendor with Axis ZTNA (zero trust network access), an identity and privilege-based network access solution for users, devices, and private applications, and now offers a more rounded SSE solution with a few added capabilities.

Atmos is onboarding a secure web gateway (SWG), Atmos Web Gateway, as a cloud-native, secure internet gateway stack that sits between the customer’s office, branches, mobile users, and the internet, inspecting traffic and brokering fast and secure connections.

Also added is a cloud access security broker (CASB) that allows customers to identify, manage, and control the use of cloud services with a layer of protection from cyberthreats and high-risk users.

Additionally, Atmos delivers a digital experience monitoring solution that enables writing up queries from the dashboard, allowing network and help desk teams to gain visibility into vital data. Insights could include answers to questions about end-user device issues, spikes in CPU use, network outages from local ISPs, and application performance challenges.

“Axis has raised the bar again for providing robust ZTNA solutions but now with one that is a more comprehensive and fully integrated cloud-native SSE platform,” says Gary McAlum, senior analyst at TAG Cyber. “In particular, their ability to provide a robust, ‘all-in-one’ interface to manage access for all private apps, SaaS apps, and endpoints is very powerful and will be attractive to a broad market segment.” 

Atmos delivered in a triple edition release

Axis plans to make Atmos generally available in May 2022 to new and existing customers in the form of three software editions — Core, Enterprise, and Harmony.

According to Knafo, Atmos Core is designed for those seeking secure remote access to private apps with ZTNA (replacing traditional VPNs). It will also include Atmos Gateway (SWG), securing employee access to the internet.

Atmos Enterprise adds Atmos CASB on top of ZTNA and SWG, to protect against data loss. Also packed into the edition is Atmos Experience, designed to allow network operation teams to monitor device, app, and network performance.

Meanwhile, Atmos Harmany “will unlock full SSE capabilities along with visibility for faster detection & response with Atmos Advanced DLP,” says Knafo. “This edition will also include additional detection and response abilities (presently in development) with Atmos Insights and extend zero trust access to servers, cloud and app-to-app communications with Atmos server.”

SSE is a fairly new concept and is often seen as a “security” component of a more comprehensive secure access service edge (SASE) solution. Together with a network connectivity component such as Software Defined Networking (SDN), SASE provides a comprehensive cloud-based connectivity that spans a broader range of locations against SSE’s end-user-specific connectivity.

“At a high level, SASE is simply the convergence of wide-area networking (WAN) and network security services like CASB, firewall as a service (FWaaS) and Zero Trust, etc. into a single, cloud-delivered service model,” says McAlum. “The Atmos solution provides the security service elements of a comprehensive SASE solution including access control, threat protection, data security, security monitoring, and acceptable use control functionality.”

While Axis believes SD-WAN could be useful to some organizations, it sees the majority of branch traffic destined for the internet (SaaS apps, public cloud) versus  the data centre, Knafo says. Consequently, Atmos presently remains focused on SSE, and will let its customers “help determine what’s needed beyond SSE.”