5G, Security, IoT, Asavie and Akamai

by Adam Karon on October 27, 2020

Malicious actors never seem to rest and have always worked remotely. That simple realization hit home during recent global events. Specifically, Akamai saw an increase in malware traffic of over 400% between March 9, 2020 and May 11, 2020 from corporate devices, most of which were being used outside of a traditional office environment. The remote work and BYOD growth in enterprises continues unabated. Effectively, every business is experiencing BYOD security issues. With so many devices and ample opportunity for infection, mass inoculation of devices is critical.

Securing access to services from the internet edge to the device can be a challenge. Akamai estimates that there are currently over 650 million corporate-owned mobile and IoT devices in use — 99% of which access enterprise applications and data over cellular networks. Companies realize the need to apply security and policy controls to those devices but lack the tools and technology to do so at scale.

To address this, Akamai has acquired Dublin, Ireland-based Asavie, a platform that manages the security, performance and access policies for IoT and mobile devices, thus enabling more secure and reliable 5G connections. Asavie’s solution secures access to applications and data from mobile and internet-connected devices and supports a global workforce without requiring installation and management of client software. This clientless architecture is particularly well-suited for regulated verticals, such as healthcare, financial services, and education, many of which are transitioning to work-from-home as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and benefit from a rapidly installable and scalable cloud-managed solution.

In fact Asavie has created solutions to secure cellular-based mobile and IoT devices that can be deployed in just 30 seconds. This focus on ease of use and scale has resulted in its management of thousands of private networks and its solutions being sold by top mobile network operators.

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Asavie’s solutions are designed to allow enterprises to provide access to everyone who needs it while continuously protecting the business in a world of evolving cyber threats that are targeting mobile devices, users and applications.

The Asavie SD Mobile solution provides a network-based, enterprise mobility service from the edge of the mobile network that secures internet access, controls access and use of content from corporate applications, and tracks service consumption across the enterprise.
The Asavie SD IoT solution provides single sign-on and secure connectivity for product owners to secure all of their mobile endpoint devices quickly and easily.
The Asavie SD Edge solution brings mobile and IoT into the enterprise network and provides a unified management solution across all of their endpoints.

The acquisition of Asavie is another step in Akamai’s strategy to capture the coming 5G opportunity, address the need for secure mobile and IoT device access, and offer policy management solutions for enterprise and mid-market customers.

Asavie’s ability to secure IoT devices complements Akamai’s other IoT solutions, allowing product line owners to not only improve the reliability and consistency of real-time communications with IoT devices, but also to secure those endpoints easily to avoid compromise. The solution also presents the opportunity to partner with other IoT providers to secure endpoint access across a variety of use cases.

The addition of Asavie also expands Akamai’s carrier Security and Personalization Services (SPS) product line into medium and large enterprises in need of cellular-specific carrier security offerings. The Asavie services and technology will be sold through Akamai’s carrier partners that embed the solution within their portfolio sold to subscribers.

I look forward to welcoming Asavie’s talented employee base to the Akamai family and leveraging their deep mobile expertise to rapidly evolve our 5G and IoT security strategy.