Introduction

As businesses shift to digital platforms investing in cybersecurity becomes more important than ever. Two popular concepts for network security are the security perimeter and defense-in-depth. While both the strategies aim to safeguard enterprise networks, they differ vastly in their approach.

This blog post aims to shed light on the differences between the security perimeter and defense-in-depth approaches while giving practical insights to help you decide which strategy to adopt for your organization.

Network Security Perimeter

The security perimeter strategy creates a virtual barrier that separates the internal network from the outside world. A firewall or gateway device restricts all incoming and outgoing network traffic, holes in the security perimeter are patched, and network access is restricted to authorized personnel only.

The security perimeter strategy is quite popular because it’s easy to implement, as you only need to protect one line of defense. This strategy also allows businesses to tightly monitor and control incoming and outgoing data.

However, recent reports indicate that attackers are exploiting perimeter defense vulnerabilities, specifically ones related to phishing attacks and stolen credentials. Therefore, relying solely on perimeter defense may not be enough.

Defense-In-Depth

Defense-in-depth is a multi-layered, and complex approach to network security, that operates on the assumption that you can’t predict or prevent a security breach. Instead, it aims to minimize the impact of an attack by placing multiple layers of protection on the front line, making it more difficult for hackers to penetrate your security.

The Defense-in-depth strategy includes multiple layers of security checks from firewalls to antivirus software and also employee training. The idea behind this approach is to keep an attacker from entering your network and significantly minimize the data loss in event of a successful cyber attack.

The downside to this strategy is that it can become expensive, and because it involves multiple layers of security, it can be difficult to maintain.

Which is Better?

There is no simple answer to which strategy is better. Both the network security perimeter and defense-in-depth have their respective advantages and disadvantages, and businesses should choose the model that best suits their needs and budgets.

The ideal approach should be a hybrid of both network security perimeter and defense-in-depth strategies, where companies can achieve the best of both worlds, and get maximum protection from network breaches. A company can start with a strong foundation architecture with a security perimeter and build layers of protection with defense-in-depth strategies to achieve an adaptive security model.

Conclusion

It's important for companies to stay up to date on cybersecurity practices and to be aware of emerging threats. While security perimeter and defense-in-depth are two popular cybersecurity strategies, it's recommended that companies adopt a combination of both to reduce the relatively higher risk profile for a successful cyber attack.

By investing in a hybrid model of security, organizations can benefit from the best of both worlds and protect their networks from a range of cyber threats.

References

1. National Institute of Standards and Technology. (2007). Guide to General Server Security [Special Publication 800-123]. https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-123

2. Taylor, J. (2021, January 15). What is a security perimeter, and why do businesses need one? CSO Online. Retrieved October 13, 2021, from https://www.csoonline.com/article/3128567/what-is-a-security-perimeter-and-why-do-businesses-need-one.html

3. Whitman, M. E., & Mattord, H. J. (2011). Principles of Information Security. Wadsworth.