HPE Aruba expands AI-powered networking with new NDR solutions

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) announced the expansion of its AI-powered networking portfolio by introducing network detection and response (NDR) capabilities via the HPE Aruba Networking Central platform. The newly unveiled NDR solutions aim to train and deploy AI models to monitor and detect activity in vulnerable devices, thereby supporting and protecting mission-critical business processes around the clock.

The company also disclosed enhancements to its cloud-based universal Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) approach, which will now extend to campus-based local area networks. This development seeks to ensure that customers receive a superior user experience, irrespective of a user's location or method of connection.

The newly introduced NDR solution leverages telemetry from the HPE Aruba Networking Central's data lake to train and deploy AI models. These models monitor and flag unusual activity in vulnerable Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which play an increasingly crucial role in mission-critical business operations. With the rise of IoT, the need to detect changes in network traffic patterns, connection statuses, or dynamic device attributes that signify a compromise becomes ever more critical.

"Enterprises are increasingly realising that unsecured IoT devices in the network present an observability blind spot in their security solutions. Those devices can be exploited for initiating larger network attacks, and thus are also one of the largest contributors to a growing attack surface," said Jon Green, Chief Technology and Security Officer, HPE Aruba Networking. "In addition, as security teams increasingly rely on the network to deliver zero trust security solutions, HPE Aruba Networking is providing the ability to leverage a single access control policy for application resources, on-prem or off-prem, that customers can adopt to reduce overlapping and potentially confusing controls," he added.

In an effort to accelerate threat response, HPE Aruba Networking Central aims to combine attack detection with new policy recommendations designed to protect against threats by intercepting potential attacks. To ensure these recommendations will not disrupt network operations, security teams can preview changes to their security policies before implementation as part of their enforcement and response workflow.

"Companies need AI-powered behavioural network detection and response, universal security policies, and edge-to-cloud enforcement to protect users, devices, and applications at scale—a key consideration as AI assets throughout the enterprise increasingly become attack targets," commented Maribel Lopez, founder and industry analyst at Lopez Research.

These new tools expand HPE Aruba Networking's security portfolio, building on solutions revealed at the RSA Conference earlier this year, which included AI-powered security observability and monitoring capabilities within HPE Aruba Networking Central and the company's first Security Service Edge (SSE) firewall-as-a-service. During the conference, HPE Aruba Networking was also recognised as having one of the "Coolest Cybersecurity Products" at the RSA 2024.