Edge computing has picked up by reducing the distance to computing power. Instead of doing the processing in the cloud, the processes are run on the edge server or even locally connected IoT devices.
Such processing distributes power across the network and reduces bandwidth requirements at central location. More devices thus can be added in remote locations. However, there is added possibility of cybercrime due to the spread of devices and their vulnerabilities. There are issues of network visibility and control. Loopholes in the edge security are opportunities for the hackers. Data Centres provide protective physical access and network security umbrella. In edge computing, the computational resources are closer to the data sources. There are vulnerabilities caused by default passwords. There is no hardened physical security of centralised assets in edge computing. The disk drive is removed from the edge resource. The data is copied from single memory stick. This compromises the vital information. There could be physical tampering of the devices. The number of devices too is more. These are widely spread. It is easier to carry out physical attacks.
Organisations must implement Zero Trust Edge Access. The minimal amount of access is allowed for each connected device. There is Secure Access Service Edge (SASE). This architecture brings wide area networking (WAN) and network solutions into a single cloud solution. It reduces complexity and automates background security tasks. There are controls to avoid physical tampering of devices. It includes adding malware to assets, swapping or interchanging devices, encryping data in-transit or at-rest and automating patching.
Cloud computing world will see a revolution through the edge computing. However, securities concerns must not be neglected. Edge computing should be as secure as the central computing.