Cradlepoint unveils 5G SASE platform for mobile, distributed environments

Cradlepoint this week launched its 5G-based secure access service edge (SASE) platform that integrates cellular SD-WAN and security features such as zero-trust and remote browser isolation (RBI) capabilities.

Cradlepoint NetCloud SASE addresses the need to protect and secure dynamic environments, such as shifting locations, roaming vehicles, multiplying Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and employees connecting from diverse and distributed locations, according to Cradlepoint. The company says 5G technologies enable businesses to become more dynamic, which requires agile technologies that support remote locations, field workers, and fleet vehicles as well as always-on connections in offices.

“Cradlepoint has more than a decade of experience simplifying cellular networking for enterprises operating in the most challenging environments on the planet,” Pankaj Malhotra, head of enterprise networking and cybersecurity products at Cradlepoint, which is part of Ericsson, said in a statement. “We are now enhancing the simplicity of enterprise-class network security for even the leanest IT organizations by introducing a SASE solution that integrates cellular, SD-WAN, and security in a unified platform.”

Enterprise organizations must be able to apply zero-trust security solutions to reduce the attack surface of dynamic networks, Cradlepoint says. It built consistent policies into NetCloud SASE that follow users and devices when roaming and when mobile, ensuring they remain compliant with the policies and threats can be thwarted from anywhere. Cradlepoint’s 5G SD-WAN provides app-based traffic steering using cellular attributes such as available bandwidth and data plan usage as well as SIM authentication.

While other solutions require agents or special browsers, NetCloud SASE uses agent-less, isolation-based security to air-gap corporate applications from unmanaged devices, mitigating the risk of malware infection. NetCloud SASE obscures IP addresses, blocks east-west traffic, and is deny-all by default, according to Cradlepoint. 

“Once you get to these dynamic mobile distributed environments, security gets exponentially more complex. We need to rethink security,” said Camille Campbell, director of product marketing at Cradlepoint, during a company webinar. “Zero trust can bring organizations a long way to help minimize that network attack surface to obscure IP addresses from the threat of discovery and to hide the network traffic to ensure attached resources are dark and undiscoverable.”

Cradlepoint’s NetCloud SASE solution includes its cloud-delivered management platform NetCloud Manager as well as Cradlepoint hardware routers and access points. The technology uses cellular-based wireless networks as well as Ethernet-based wired networks for connectivity, delivering cloud-based security and prioritization updates from the centralized management console. Organizations looking for a local deployment option can choose NetCloud Exchange (NCX) Service Gateway, with deployment options that include data centers and virtual private clouds that can all be managed from NetCloud Manager.

The added capabilities follow Cradlepoint’s April 2023 acquisition of Ericom Software. Cradlepoint’s cloud-delivered security incorporates Ericom’s secure service edge (SSE) solutions. The early access version of NetCloud SASE is available immediately. General availability will follow in late Q2 2024.