Network Security with SASE

Being a successful student requires understanding how you learn, identifying your values, and setting clear goals. It also means mastering time and financial management, developing strong note-taking and test-taking skills, collaborating effectively, and leveraging technology to enhance your efficiency. In this course, you will learn essential research, writing, and presentation skills. Additionally, you will focus on financial literacy through the Enriched Academy program, designed specifically for Oxford College students, to help you confidently manage your finances.

In this module, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles of networking technologies, including its key elements like Local Area Network and Wide Area Networks, Cloud based Networking, virtualization technologies to configure virtual and cloud providers. They will explore the historical development of Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN) configurations, a core component of SASE, learning how to optimize WAN performance and apply policies for secure access across distributed environments.

In this module, students will explore the foundational principles and practical applications of configuring and deploying Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) frameworks. By integrating advanced network security functions—including secure web gateways, firewall-as-a-service, and zero-trust network access—with robust wide-area networking (WAN) capabilities, students will gain the expertise needed to design secure, high-performance networks suited for modern distributed environments.

Zero Trust is a key component of SASE, and students will learn to implement ZTNA principles, ensuring that no user or device is trusted by default, even if they are within the corporate network. Students will configure and manage identity-based access controls and ensure that all access to the network and applications is continuously authenticated, authorized, and encrypted. Students will also work on integrating Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) into networking setups, enhancing security for remote workers and users accessing cloud applications.

This module focuses on integrating security solutions across both cloud environments and on-premises infrastructures within a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture. As organizations adopt hybrid IT models, ensuring consistent and unified security across disparate environments becomes critical. Students will explore how to bridge cloud and on-premises security controls, enforce security policies, and maintain visibility into data traffic, user behavior, and security threats. Through practical exercises, students will learn to harmonize security strategies, implement access controls, and secure data flows across multiple environments.

Students will configure and manage cloud-delivered firewalls that are key components of the SASE framework, providing centralized control of firewall policies across distributed locations. They will get practical experience deploying and managing SWG services, which protect users from web-based threats, and help enforce internet usage policies. Students will also work with DLP tools to prevent sensitive data from leaving the organization’s network, integrating these solutions within the SASE framework.

This module introduces students to the essential components on SASE’s integrated threat prevention capabilities, such as intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS), which monitor and block malicious traffic in real-time. They will also work with UTM tools that combine multiple security services (antivirus, firewall, intrusion detection) into a single management console. Students will learn to configure and manage encryption protocols (e.g., TLS/SSL) to protect data in transit, a key element of securing access to cloud and edge resources in a SASE environment.

Students will learn the fundamental principles of managing network traffic flows and optimizing performance using technologies like quality of service (QoS) to prioritize mission-critical applications. They may work on configuring traffic-shaping tools to control and optimize bandwidth usage across the network, ensuring efficiency, particularly in cloud and hybrid environments. Being exposed to monitoring tools will help students learn how to track and manage network latency, ensuring optimal performance for applications accessed over the WAN or cloud.

This module focuses on monitoring and analysis strategies within a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) environment. It explores how organizations can effectively monitor network traffic, security events, and performance metrics to ensure seamless, secure access to resources from any location. The course covers the integration of security and performance monitoring tools, proactive threat detection, and the use of analytics to support decision-making and network optimization. Learners will be introduced to best practices for real-time analysis, incident response, and network visibility to enhance both security posture and operational efficiency.

This module covers the principles and techniques of automation and orchestration within a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture. Students will learn how to streamline network and security operations by automating repetitive tasks and integrating multiple security tools to work seamlessly together. The course emphasizes using automation tools to enhance network performance, security policy enforcement, and incident response. Through real-world scenarios and hands-on labs, students will gain proficiency in leveraging automation to improve operational efficiency, reduce human errors, and ensure consistent security across distributed environments.

In this capstone module, students will integrate networking and security concepts acquired throughout the program to design a cloud-based network architecture using Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) principles. Students will apply knowledge of SD-WAN, zero-trust models, and cloud-delivered security services to build a secure, scalable, and policy-driven solution that reflects modern enterprise networking needs.