AlgoSec's State of Network Security Report highlights key trends

AlgoSec has published its annual State of Network Security Report, offering an analysis of the current network security landscape. The report underscores a transition towards consolidation, emphasising unification, automation, and control. This approach is seen as businesses strive to enhance their visibility on risk and resilience.

Based on data from over 500 professionals in security, network, and cloud domains across 28 countries, AlgoSec evaluates major players, including AWS, Cisco, Microsoft Azure, GCP, Check Point, Palo Alto Networks, and Fortinet.

The report highlights several key trends:

1. AI-Powered Defences Mainstream: Artificial intelligence has emerged as both a threat and a defensive tool. A significant 65% of respondents have adjusted strategies to counter AI-driven attacks, marking a pivotal development.
2. Cloud Firewall Consolidation: Transitioning to cloud firewalls is becoming increasingly central, with nearly 24% of participants planning to prioritise them in the coming years, establishing cloud-native controls as a baseline.
3. Security as a Key Platform Criterion: With AI workloads and compliance at the forefront, security has surfaced as the chief criterion for cloud platform selection, as indicated by over half of surveyed organisations.
4. The Role of SD-WAN: The demand for secure connectivity has seen SD-WAN established as a key component, with Fortinet and Cisco capturing 31% and 30.7% of the market.
5. SASE's Journey to Standardisation: The adoption of SASE continues to transition from exploratory to standard, with adoption rates indicating a planned progression within enterprises.

Eran Shiff, Chief Product Officer at AlgoSec, noted a shift from experimentation to optimisation. Stating the industry's rapid expansion across multi-cloud environments and AI operations has led enterprises to focus on consolidation, shared visibility, and automation.