How MSSPs Can Facilitate Network Access Control Deployments for Customers

Jon Bove

As internet of things (IoT) devices proliferate across enterprise networks, the attack surface continues to grow and new vulnerabilities are exposed. At the same time, the new work-from-home trend has amplified mobile and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) usage, compounding gaps and weaknesses along the network perimeter.

The result? Many admins have now lost complete visibility into what is on their network. To address these challenges, network access control (NAC) solutions must be employed to provide robust access control and device management capabilities, including threat awareness, containment and mitigation.

NAC solutions, however, can be daunting to deploy, and organizations often turn to outside partners for help. This creates a growing opportunity for managed security service providers (MSSPs) to offer a highly customized service solution to help customers gain networkwide visibility, enforcement of custom policy-based controls, automated threat response and detailed reporting capabilities that otherwise would be difficult to obtain. Well-prepared MSSPs will, in turn, gain client loyalty and secure ongoing revenue streams.

Controlling Device Access to the Network

The widespread adoption of IoT products and BYOD policies deliver both valuable capabilities and glaring challenges to business environments. Within any single organization there will be several device types, brands and active operating systems running applications and gathering data, creating new edges and entryways for cyber criminals to exploit. Further, many of these devices — especially IoT — lack the enterprise-grade security necessary to protect the network.

The first generation of network access control solutions was built to authenticate and authorize endpoints using simple scan-and-block technology. NAC capabilities have since evolved beyond simple authorization to provide endpoint visibility, controls, active monitoring and automated responses. And as network infrastructures change, sophisticated endpoint attacks grow and compliance requirements become increasingly rigid. To address these challenges, organizations require today’s third-generation network access controls to help secure connected devices.

However, many organizations will require assistance in multiple areas.They are identifying which NAC solution is best, working through deployments, optimizing systems and managing and orchestrating network access controls. This is where MSSPs come in. 

The MSSP Opportunity: NAC-as-a-Service

MSSPs can offer a NAC-as-a-service solution to help facilitate network access control deployments for their customers. To deploy the best possible solution, an MSSP must first gain an extensive understanding of each customer’s network. This understanding will not only enable them to select and deploy an effective solution, but also recommend additional services, such as the delivery of regular detailed reports, or optimization of service capabilities to meet customer needs. A curated customer relationship such as this will lead to MSSPs becoming trusted advisers and consultants for future projects.

Here are some ways to deliver a successful NAC service solution to customers. To aid customers and provide functional network access controls, a successful …