Tempered, an emerging secure network provider, announced the results of its ‘Network Security Revolution' study this morning. The study, which is based on a survey of 100 cybersecurity professionals at RSA Conference 2020, revealed that 75% of companies rely on legacy network security technologies from big-name vendors (think Cisco, Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet). However, 70% would choose to make their networks invisible to hackers if that was possible - something those big-name vendors can't provide.

In addition to the desire for invisibility, respondents also revealed that nearly 24% of their companies experienced a network-based breach in the past 24 months. The survey also found that 74% of participants utilize penetration testing to evaluate the strength of their network security, and of those respondents, 59% answered that a majority of the time, these testers infiltrate their networks successfully.

While a promising 67% of security professionals said they do not feel firewalls are sufficient to protect organizations' networks, worryingly, 22% believe they are enough. This could be tied to the fact that small budgets were listed as the top network admin challenge today (45%), likely compromising the strength of the security stack. Integrating software (27%) followed in second place.

Interestingly, 32% of the professionals think achieving ‘defense in depth' requires five or more network security components, 25% believe it requires four to five, 28% said three to four and just 14% think it takes three or less - but what if true network security could be simpler?

The survey coincides with Tempered's launch of its Airwall technology, a secure networking platform. Led by F5 Networks founder Jeff Hussey, Tempered has been developing and battle testing its technology for over five years and has now delivered a true, zero-trust solution, one that is potentially very disruptive to the network security market.

"Despite the billions of dollars spent every year on solutions from the legacy network security ‘Cartel,' hacks still occur every day," said Tempered CEO Jeff Hussey. "The fact that 24% of the companies surveyed still had a breach in the last two years proves this. The Cartel may have the name recognition, but they don't have what it takes to ensure zero-trust network access. Why stop the criminal after they're already in if you can keep them from finding the network in the first place?"

The ‘Network Security Revolution' survey results show organizations continue to be threatened by outdated network security products and practices that modern threats have adapted to and can easily overcome. However those same threats cannot hack what they can't see. Enter Airwall, a solution that provides total invisibility and network security at any scale.

Organizations across all industries can now completely hide all IoT endpoints, devices, and networks from cybercriminals. Airwall secures network communication between devices, enables zero-trust network connectivity for applications and users, connects legacy infrastructure, simplifies micro-segmentation, and secures critical infrastructure.

In today's unexpected remote-work climate, companies are focused on temporary stop gaps like brittle VPNs, but as soon as normalcy resumes, organizations will need a permanent network security solution. Business continuity requires secure connectivity for workers anywhere - in the office, at home, at the coffee shop, and that requires an advanced, zero trust-based tool like Airwall.

The Airwall solution enables organizations to consolidate their network security toolset, which enables them to achieve defense in depth with fewer solutions, at a lower price - directly addressing the needs of the industry, according to today's report findings.

"People have been patching together network security solutions for a long time - VPN clients, VPN concentrators, low-end SD-WAN solutions, firewalls - but IT teams need to rethink long-term strategies for securing networks," said Lee Doyle, principal analyst, Doyle Research. "In this time of digital transformation, organizations that effectively do this will benefit, and those who do not, will suffer long-term."  

"It's simple: invisibility equals security," said Hussey. "The study shows the industry is ready, and we're here to tell them it's possible. Tempered's Airwall makes every asset, transaction and user undetectable to external threats. We look forward to changing the landscape to the new game and aiding companies in truly securing networks against breaches by making them impossible to find."

Ready to join the revolution? Visit tempered.io or join an upcoming Tempered webinar with analyst Lee Doyle to learn more. To sign up for a free 90-day trial of Airwall for secure remote working, visit tempered.io/wfh.