Cradlepoint has launched the S700, a multipurpose IoT router designed to provide a rich zero-trust security service to enterprise customers. Coupled with Cradlepoint NetCloud Exchange Secure Connect, the S700 provides a comprehensive cloud-managed network solution to safeguard IoT devices as today’s attack surface expands and adversaries increasingly target connected devices.
There are currently an estimated 41.76 billion IoT devices globally in 2023. With shipments of these devices expected to grow by 18% annually, IoT solutions are driving device sprawl despite not being equipped to use modern security methods. As today’s attack surface expands and cybercriminals become more sophisticated, it is clear that many organizations are not prepared to address IoT security needs. For IT teams to effectively manage distributed IoT networks, organizations need an efficient zero-trust approach to security. This includes easing the setup and maintenance of IoT solutions while enabling advanced, fine-grained policies to allow access for third-party management of devices.
The S700 and NetCloud Exchange from Cradlepoint delivers a robust zero-trust solution for IoT that removes deployment complexity and is ideal for enterprise-lean IT scenarios.
Key benefits include connect-and-go zero trust, in which any IoT device connected to the router is immediately invisible to public scans and other internal sites. Access policies are easily defined so IoT devices communicate only with their authorized resources on a least-privilege basis; efficient WAN creation, which enables orchestration with only a few clicks through a cloud-based management system; and small routers with big security, in which IoT devices connected to a small router can still have access to full modern security services, including zero trust. The S700 adds simplicity by offloading the security processes to a services gateway, which holds the security policies, manages router updates (including security patches), and orchestrates processes.
Finally, another key benefit is third-party access protection. Over 60% of WANs are now serving outside customers and suppliers, so protecting third-party access to IoT equipment has broad implications. With the Cradlepoint solution, fine-grained policies can be added to the zero-trust services gateway, allowing third-party access to all or part of the management system of an IoT device behind the Cradlepoint router.
"As the network expands and we see more sophisticated cyber threats, it's evident that IoT networks will need to be rearchitected,” said Chantal Polsonetti, vice president, industry analyst, ARC Advisory Group. "By off-loading security from the perimeter to a distributed zero-trust architecture, Cradlepoint is offering IoT devices access to a collection of robust security services that have traditionally not been available on typical IoT routers.”
As a multipurpose IoT router designed for the enterprise, the S700 connects light industrial, smart city, IoT and portable devices over cellular, Wi-Fi and wired links. Offering a wide variety of connectivity options through LTE, two Gigabit Ethernet ports for wired connections and dual-band Wi-Fi 6 options, the S700 also adds advanced features, such as active GNSS/GPS for asset tracking, GPIO pins to control and monitor external sensors.
"IT teams have more responsibilities and less time, even as organisations deploy more connected devices,” said Donna Johnson, senior vice president of marketing, Cradlepoint. “Last year, we launched NetCloud Exchange as an advanced security and SD-WAN extension to Cradlepoint NetCloud to make managing security threats easier for those teams. The S700 with zero trust capabilities shows our commitment to 5G — and security-first services to support enterprise WAN transformation — at scale.”
