After launching its Software-Defined Secure Network (SDSN) portfolio in 2016, Juniper Networks is delivering on its promise to support additional security vendors on the platform as it makes better use of cloud-hosted resources in malware detection and prevention.

Recruits include cloud access security broker (CASB) suppliers CipherCloud and Netskope, whose solutions will work within SDSN to identify malware in cloud-hosted, as well as on-premise, applications and feed the information to Juniper Networks® Sky Advanced Threat Prevention (Sky ATP) anti-malware service.

CipherCloud’s Cloud Data Loss Prevention (DLP) application will also give network administrators detailed information on external, cloud-hosted application and data usage – whether sanctioned or unsanctioned under “shadow IT” procurement – to help customers comply with data privacy laws and industry regulations.

The virtualised approach to security application and service provisioning presented by SDSN should go some way to assisting IT departments automate the implementation and enforcement of end user security and access policies for example, whilst closer integration between threat intelligence engines and network firewalls should help identify and stop attacks faster.

Juniper’s SDSN model currently incorporates three tools, comprising Juniper Networks Spotlight Secure Threat Intelligence Platform which aggregates threat intelligence from multiple sources to identify and predict where problems might occur based on known vulnerabilities.

Spotlight Secure Threat Intelligence Platform feeds that threat data into Sky ATP, a cloud-hosted anti-malware service that works alongside Juniper Networks® SRX Series Services Gateways to scan inbound and outbound network traffic for signs of suspicious activity or compromise.

The final piece of the jigsaw is the Junos® Space Security Director, a security management platform which helps network administrators to manage scalable and effective security policies based on this rich threat intelligence.

The variety, volume and scale of cyber-attacks being directed at public and private sector organisations continue to grow, and IT departments need ubiquitous, holistic and intelligence-driven defences –network, cloud and end-point based – to mount effective protection.