What will be our security challenge in the coming decade? Running trusted services even on untrusted infrastructure. That means protecting the confidentiality and integrity of data as it moves through the network. One possible solution – distributed network encryption – a new approach made possible by network virtualization and the software-defined data center that addresses some of the current challenges of widespread encryption usage inside the data center.

VMware’s head of security products Tom Corn recently spoke on the topic at VMworld 2015 U.S., noting, “Network encryption is a great example of taking something that was once a point product, and turning it into a distributed service—or what you might call an infinite service. It’s everywhere; and maybe more importantly it changes how you implement policy. From thinking about it through the physical infrastructure—how you route data, etcetera—to through the lens of the application, which is ultimately what you’re trying to protect. It eventually becomes really a check box on an application.”

VMware NSX holds the promise of simplifying encryption, incorporating it directly so that it becomes a fundamental attribute of the application. That means so as long as it has that attribute, any packet will be encrypted. Distributed network encryption will be able to help protect the confidentiality and the integrity of all data flowing through the network. Once again, network virtualization has changed the game.

Watch the video above to discover more about how network virtualization is improving security across the board.