There was a time when securing a corporate network meant guarding a single, visible border. No ambiguity, no surprises. But the shift to hybrid environments across cloud and on-premises infrastructure, now the norm, has added layers of complexity to cybersecurity. And with it came a surge in cyberattacks.
A 15% rise in attacks in just one year. This finding from FS-ISAC’s latest Global Intelligence Office report highlights the growing risk of cyberthreats in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. To make matters worse, the report also notes that threat actors are continually refining their tactics, making them increasingly sophisticated — through social engineering, SEO poisoning, malvertising, QR code phishing, and other methods.
All these factors are prompting both large enterprises and small and medium businesses (SMBs) to prioritise cybersecurity investments. According to IDC’s Security Spending Guide, total security spending in the Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ) amounted to US$7.6 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.5%, reaching US$12 billion by 2027.
No matter their size (or the size of their investments), companies can significantly improve their security posture by incorporating multiple layers of protection. Ultimately, it all comes down to one thing: defence-in-depth.
What many might not realise is that load balancers can be a powerful part of that multi-layer protection.
Rethinking the role of load balancers
It is true that the core function of load balancing is to distribute network traffic evenly across application servers to improve app performance, reliability, and availability, as well as to reduce downtime. To put it simply, modern load balancers do this by using intelligent algorithms and continuous traffic monitoring to direct (or redirect) client requests to the most appropriate or available servers.
However, due to their central role in controlling access to web applications, load balancers can also serve as ideal “application gatekeepers” that can effectively:
- Inspect network traffic before it reaches applications and data sources.
- Prevent potentially malicious network traffic from reaching back-end servers.
This means organisations can boost their cybersecurity capabilities (or “layers”) by integrating security functions into application load balancers. The real advantage is that cybersecurity teams and system admins have the flexibility to choose which security components to apply to each load balancer based on their specific requirements.
These components can range from web application firewalls (WAFs) and advanced bot management to pre-authentication methods and intrusion prevention systems (IPS). The growing demand for application security will likely lead to further advancements in load balancer technology, along with additional features that offer even more comprehensive protection against emerging cyberthreats.
Securing from the centre
Apart from the benefits already mentioned, there are a number of reasons why implementing security functions at the load-balancing level can significantly enhance protection across an organisation’s entire hybrid infrastructure.
First and foremost, it allows for unified security policies that provide consistent enforcement of rules and centralised management for both on-premises and cloud environments. By having a consolidated view of security events, organisations can also gain better threat visibility, which enables faster detection of distributed attacks and more effective incident response. There is also a performance boost that comes from offloading security processing tasks.
However, to fully maximise the security benefits of load balancers, here are some recommended practices:
- Think ahead – Set clear security goals and ensure load balancing strategies align with your overall cybersecurity framework.
- Layer up – Don’t rely on load balancing security alone. It should complement your existing firewalls, network detection and response (NDR) tools, and endpoint security solutions.
- Stay current – Make sure security policies and threat intelligence are consistently updated to stay ahead of evolving threats.
- Guard with data – Leverage load balancer logging and advanced analytics tools to gain real-time visibility into traffic patterns. This allows the organisation to proactively detect threats and make faster, more informed security decisions.
The future is balanced and secure
Beyond uptime and performance, load balancers hold untapped potential as a powerful security asset. Organisations should treat load balancers as platforms for multi-layered defence and add WAFs and other application security components where needed.
The role of load balancers is expected to evolve as digital infrastructure becomes more complex. They are well-positioned to adapt to the shifting demands of technology and cybersecurity.
Going forward, enterprise businesses will need to ensure that their load balancing strategies are secure, flexible, and suited to the demands of hybrid infrastructure.
