Graphic representation of a cloud network - image courtesy of Suresh Anchan from Pixabay

Published: August 14, 2025

The New Network Frontier: Edge Computing and the Crisis of Connectivity

Editor's note: This is the first post in a four-part series exploring the architectural gaps, strategic risks, and emerging models shaping the future of edge networking. In this series, we’ll unpack why traditional connectivity is failing at the cloud edge and what it will take to build secure, high-performance networks for the next generation of AI-driven, latency-sensitive applications.

The Dissolving Perimeter and the Rise of the Edge

The traditional enterprise network, once defined by a defensible perimeter around a centralized data center, has dissolved. Today's enterprise is a dynamic, distributed ecosystem of users, devices, applications, and data that spans the globe. In this new reality, the network's frontier —the "edge"— is no longer a single location but a constantly shifting landscape where data is generated, processed, and consumed in real time. Workloads, AI processing locations and isolated network enclaves and their zero trusted assets must be nimble, moving and shifting autonomously as demand and load is to be optimized.

Recognizing this paradigm shift, large-scale service providers are embarked on a strategic expansion to push their powerful infrastructure closer to this new frontier. Industry titans like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud are extending their reach through a portfolio of edge services, including AWS Wavelength, AWS Local Zones, Azure Edge Zones, and Google Distributed Cloud. This monumental effort is driven by the insatiable demand for ultra-low latency applications that are powering the next wave of innovation in industrial IoT, real-time analytics, connected mobility, and immersive gaming.

The Challenge: Reaching the Full Potential with Your Edge Traffic and Security

The full potential of this powerful edge infrastructure is being throttled by the very tools designed to connect to it. Legacy connectivity models, built for a bygone era of centralized control, are fundamentally incapable of meeting the security, resilience, and performance demands of the modern edge. A new transport layer* is required—one that is inherently secure, resilient, and performant.

Download the White Paper: The Dispersive Trusted Cloud Edge (TCE) Modernizes SASE to Address Distributed Environment Challenges


The Failure of Legacy Architectures at the Edge

The tools that once secured the enterprise WAN—namely Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and first-generation Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN) solutions—are ill-suited for the modern edge. Their architectural foundation is built on the concept of static, point-to-point tunnels, a model that proves brittle and vulnerable in a distributed environment. This legacy approach creates a cascade of critical issues.

Critical Issues

  1. The edge and various security services introduce (sometimes severe) performance bottlenecks. Funneling all traffic through a limited number of tunnels or pop locations creates chokepoints that cannot handle the massive data volumes generated by edge devices.

  2. Each tunnel represents a single point of failure; if the underlying network path degrades or is disrupted, the connection is lost, jeopardizing mission-critical operations.

  3. Most critically, older models dangerously expand an organization's attack surface. The proliferation of thousands of static tunnels, known as "tunnel sprawl," creates a predictable and easily discoverable network topology for adversaries.

  4. Visible endpoints and predictable paths make legacy networks prime targets for reconnaissance, interception, and targeted attacks.

  5. Recent threat intelligence reports highlight a significant increase in attacks targeting network infrastructure itself, exploiting the inherent weaknesses of these outdated architectures.

The hyperscalers have built remarkably secure infrastructure of the cloud and their associated edge zones, adhering to the most stringent global standards. However, the widely accepted shared responsibility model places the burden of securing data in transit to and from these edge locations squarely on the customer.

The Critical Security Gap Is at the Customer-Managed Transport Layer

When an organization relies on a traditional VPN or SD-WAN to bridge this gap, it creates a vulnerable "last mile" and "middle mile." An attacker does not need to breach the formidable defenses of an AWS or Azure data center; they only need to target the comparatively weak, customer-managed transport layer. This creates a critical security gap that undermines the integrity of the entire edge-to-cloud continuum.

"Many modern SASE and ZTNA solutions still rely on tunnels under the hood. That’s like deploying state-of-the-art access control ... and still running on dial-up. You can enforce all the policies in the world, but if your underlying transport is brittle, slow, and visible, the entire stack is compromised."

The Need for a Secure, Resilient, and Tunnel-Free Transport Layer

As the industry rightfully moves toward a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) model, which converges networking and security functions into a cloud-delivered service, a foundational weakness persists. Many SASE implementations, while advanced in their policy and access control capabilities, still rely on conventional tunneling protocols for the underlying data transport. This is akin to building a state-of-the-art fortress on a foundation of sand.

A true SASE or distributed Trusted Cloud Edge architecture cannot be realized without a secure, resilient, and tunnel-free transport layer at its core. To build for the future, we need to rethink transport entirely:

  • No more tunnels
  • No more single points of failure
  • No more predictable paths
  • No more trust-by-default network assumptions

Instead, we need transport that is adaptive, stealthy, and resilient by design. In Part 2 of this series, we’ll explore what it takes to build this kind of transport. We’ll cover:

  • Why tunnel-free architectures are critical for edge performance and security
  • How a Trusted Cloud Edge model complements and enhances your existing SASE or ZTNA strategy
  • Real-world deployment scenarios that show what’s possible with a resilient, multipath, stealth networking approach
  • How to future-proof your infrastructure for the AI, mobility, and compliance demands of the next 5–10 years

*Dispersive's Trusted Cloud Edge (TCE) provides this foundational, preemptive security layer, designed not merely to connect to hyperscaler edge services, but to fundamentally enhance them.

Let’s make your network something they can’t find. Schedule a personalized demo to get started.

Additional Reading

Explore more blogs by Lawrence Pingree.

=> Salt Typhoon and the Case for Preemptive Cyber Defense

=> Cybersecurity Needs Satellite Navigation, Not Paper Maps

=> Defending Against the Chinese Telecom Hack with Stealth Networking

=> Your Network Is Showing - Time to Go Stealth

=> Secure AI Workspaces Need More Than a VPN

=> When Good Tools Go Bad: Dual-Use in Cybersecurity


Header image courtesy of Suresh Anchan from Pixabay.

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