Growing Numbers of Network Engineers Turning to NetOps to Enhance Security

According to new Opengear research spanning the UK, the U.S., France, and Germany, more than four out of ten (41%) of network managers, network engineers, and network architects say their organisations use NetOps or network automation to enhance network security, the top use for NetOps overall.

Moreover, 44% of respondents whose organisations use an independent secure management plane (e.g. an Out-of-Band Network) that is separate from the production network believe enhanced security is one of the top two benefits of doing so. However, questions remain around access rights and permissions.

While just half of respondents say network engineers can access the independent management plane, 59% say the internal IT team is able to do so, 30% say middle management can access it, and 14% even say lower management or supervisory staff from elsewhere in the organisation can access it.

“These findings around access are a little concerning,” said Gary Marks, President of Opengear. “All network configuration and management should be restricted to the core network operations team via an independent management plane, including an Out-of-Band Network. This is essential to safeguard the production network from human error such as misconfiguration, or worse – cyberattacks. That’s why the management plane is increasingly viewed as the network for network engineers.”

The Opengear survey found that security was seen as key to avoiding network downtime. Thirty-nine percent of respondents whose organisation has an SD-WAN deployment use multilayer security to avoid downtime, while nearly one in five (18%) use end-to-end micro-segmentation and security zoning.

About Opengear

Opengear, a Digi International company, delivers secure, resilient access and automation to critical IT infrastructure, even when the network is down. Provisioning, orchestration, and remote management of network devices, through innovative software and appliances, enable technical staff to manage data centers and remote network locations reliably and efficiently. Opengear’s business continuity solutions are trusted by global organizations across financial, digital communications, retail, and manufacturing industries. The company is headquartered in New Jersey, with R&D centers in Silicon Valley and Brisbane, Australia. Opengear was acquired by Digi International in 2019, bringing together two organizations with a deep commitment to providing the best products, software, and services that meet the demands of mission-critical networks. Both companies continue to build and support strong customer relationships. For more information, please visit www.opengear.com.

About Digi International

Digi International (NASDAQ: DGII) is a leading global provider of business and mission-critical Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity products and solutions. We help our customers create next-generation connected products and solutions to deploy, monitor, and manage critical communications infrastructures and compliance standards in demanding environments with high levels of security, relentless reliability, and bulletproof performance. Founded in 1985, the company has helped customers connect more than 100 million things – and counting. For more information, visit www.digi.com, or call 877-912-3444 (U.S.) or 952-912-3444 (International).

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