This sobering statistic, recently published by Ponemon Institute in the report, The 2025 Global Study on Closing the IT Security Gap, sponsored by HPE, highlights how important it is for organizations to close cybersecurity gaps that can expose them to risk and leave them vulnerable to threats.
According to the same survey, network access control (NAC) is the leading method for achieving a strong level of security within organizations, especially when it comes to IoT security. And, because of the unique role that NAC plays in delivering optimal network performance while enforcing granular access control security policies, NAC can also facilitate better collaboration between network and security teams.
Modernized network access control from HPE Aruba Networking, announced at RSA Conference 2025, is the ideal complement to traditional NAC. Cloud-based, integrated, and intuitive, HPE Aruba Networking Central NAC helps organizations overcome the barriers of traditional NAC to close cybersecurity gaps and enact zero trust security controls throughout the organization.
A path forward for network access control
Many are familiar with the term “NAC.” The technology started gaining ground in the early 2000s with its origins in “network admission control.” Over the years, NAC evolved to offer much more than simple “yes/no” all-access admittance onto enterprise networks, establishing it as an integral part of the security ecosystem for most organizations. Many organizations find that, as they adopt more cloud-based services, a cloud-based NAC provides a natural complement to the granular contextual controls they implement on premises.
Organizations need a modern approach to network access control that overcomes the challenges of traditional NAC, a way forward on the path to agile, scalable networking and security.
HPE Aruba Networking Central NAC, part of next-generation HPE Aruba Networking Central, represents a modernization of NAC, a complement to traditional NAC approaches, tailored for simplified security in an edge-to-cloud world.
Cloud-based network access control for everyone
HPE Aruba Networking Central was designed to provide network and security teams a shared solution for delivering exceptional user experiences without compromising protection. HPE Aruba Networking Central NAC extends this further with cloud-native security controls that are:
- Built-in: HPE Aruba Networking Central NAC is woven into HPE Aruba Networking Central, making security a natural part of the network management workflow. All the elements to configure and apply policies are available where and when they are needed—no more swivel chair.
- Precise: Network and security teams need granular controls to deliver robust protection. HPE Aruba Networking Central NAC allows organizations to develop and apply granular policies at the individual and device level, based on identity.
- Integrated: No single security solution can provide all the protection an organization needs; NAC solutions must work with other elements within a multi-vendor security ecosystem. HPE Aruba Networking Central NAC includes integrations with multiple cloud identity providers, so network and security teams can reduce cybersecurity gaps by using the same identity frameworks for network policy.
- Consistent: Policy configured and applied in HPE Aruba Networking Central NAC is automatically defined and translated into access policies via HPE Aruba Networking Central Policy Manager. Policies are propagated to the entire network infrastructure (mobility gateways, switches, access points) for consistent enforcement from edge to cloud.
- Simple: Intuitive controls within next-generation HPE Aruba Networking Central NAC make it easy for any network or security administrator to configure zero trust security policies—no specialized NAC experience required.
To illustrate the value of this precision policy definition and enforcement, when it comes to security for AI, organizations can now assign access policies that restrict access to specific AI models to individually identified data scientists. In this case, if there is a compromise, the damage is significantly contained based on this micro segmentation.
Beyond network access control: the network as a security solution
With security-first, AI-powered networking, the network holds a dual role as both a connectivity enabler and a cybersecurity defender. That’s why, in addition to HPE Aruba Networking Central NAC, HPE Aruba Networking also now offers:
- Adaptive DDoS Defense: A new AI-powered Adaptive DDoS defense capability delivered through HPE Aruba Networking single-vendor SASE allows systems to stay adaptive and responsive to both everyday traffic fluctuations and unexpected DDoS attack patterns. This can help organizations prevent and protect against DDoS attacks, which are on rise by hacktivist organizations targeting enterprises to bring attention to their political or social concerns. Delivering this capability via SASE helps organizations avoid the increased cost, complexity, and vendor management associated with bolting-on additional dedicated appliances.
- High-availability SASE: Establishing the network as a security solution means security teams can rely on it as an integral part of their security ecosystem. HPE Aruba Networking SSE was built from the ground up for performance and resilience, with all security services available at all PoPs and integration of all security services in the same intuitive interface. New enhancements to HPE Aruba Networking SSE add to capabilities designed to enhance user experience and reduce IT headaches.
New HPE Aruba Networking SSE mesh connectivity establishes parallel connections between agent and connector to multiple PoPs and then selects the optimal PoP path, delivering seamless and efficient real-time access with zero downtime.
Fig. 1: HPE Aruba Networking SSE mesh connectivity automatically picks the fastest traffic route for happy users
In addition, ZTNA Private Edge is now available within HPE Aruba Networking EdgeConnect SD-WAN, and can be activated with an HPE Aruba Networking SSE ZTNA license with no additional fees or additional setup by operators. With ZTNA Private Edge, organizations can implement zero trust policies locally, mirroring those defined in the cloud, providing consistent access for experiences for hybrid workers, fast local traffic, enforced compliance with locally accessed data, and business continuity when the Internet is unavailable.
Learn about HPE Aruba Networking Central NAC at RSA Conference 2025
Visit booth #1261 at RSA Conference 2025 to learn more about next-generation network access control from HPE Aruba Networking, as well as how HPE is redefining cloud-based security with private cloud solutions that support regulatory compliance.
Explore network access control
How can your team benefit from a different approach to network access control? Check out these helpful resources to explore new ways to connect and protect what matters most in your organization.
- Get the Ponemon Industry full report: The 2025 Global Study on Closing the IT Security Gap
- Deepen your understanding: What is Network Access Control
- Watch the webinar replay: “Zero trust made simple” (Airheads registration required)
- Find out more about the network as a security solution
Eve-Marie_Lanza
Eve-Marie Lanza is a Senior Security Solutions Marketing Manager at HPE Aruba Networking, where she leads marketing for Edge-to-Cloud Security solutions. She brings to the role more than 15 years of experience in portfolio and solutions marketing with a focus on enterprise networking and data center technologies. Eve-Marie holds an MBA from the University of California at Davis.
