Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

For many, the answer still involves legacy VPNs and Network Access Control (NAC), familiar tools from a different era. But what if those trusted systems aren’t protecting you anymore, and are instead becoming some of your biggest liabilities? To explore this shift, Netskope partnered with Cybersecurity Insiders, a leading research platform for CISOs and cybersecurity professionals, to dig into the real risks of relying on outdated access solutions.

Over the past nine years in the SASE business, I’ve had the privilege of speaking with hundreds of IT leaders—CIOs, CISOs, and IT executives. Through these conversations, I’ve found that five main concerns consistently keep them up at night. This blog aims to share those insights and highlight how I’ve seen Cato Networks’ SASE platform help address these challenges, allowing IT leaders to sleep a little easier.

Cloud adoption isn't just soaring; it's practically stratospheric. Businesses of all sizes are leveraging the agility, scalability, and innovation that cloud environments offer. Yet, hand-in-hand with this incredible growth comes an often-overlooked challenge: the increasing complexities of maintaining compliance.

When was the last time you updated your router? If you’re not sure, you’re not alone, and this uncertainty could pose a serious risk to your business. The FBI recently warned that malicious actors are targeting end-of-life (EOL) routers (network devices that manufacturers no longer support or update). These outdated routers are being hijacked by bad actors who use them as a stepping stone into networks, turning them into cybercriminal proxies. The threat is real, and it’s growing.

Having spent over two decades navigating the evolving landscape of service provider partnerships, I’ve witnessed firsthand how challenging it can be for providers to maintain profitability and differentiation. Increasingly, relying on legacy vendors feels akin to selling customers a shiny new car equipped with an outdated engine—appealing at first glance but disappointing once in use.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) have become integral to modern SecOps architecture and threat detection capabilities. However, the urgency of the situation is clear—attackers are deploying increasingly sophisticated techniques to bypass threat detection centered on these systems.

In today’s dynamic threat landscape, technical debt isn’t just a budgeting headache—it’s a growing national security risk. According to McKinsey, technical debt consumes up to 20% of engineering and DevOps capacity across large enterprises. For U.S. federal agencies—defense and civilian alike—the cost of carrying outdated, unsupported infrastructure goes far beyond inefficiency.

Let’s be honest: Chasing after the so-called ‘best-of-breed’ cybersecurity solutions might seem smart, but it often sets you up for operational headaches. It’s tempting—especially given the persuasive pitches from top-tier vendors—to select the best individual products for each security function.