Network Segmentation That Enforces Zero Trust at the Host Level
When attackers breach the perimeter, what limits the damage is how far they can move. Enclave contains that movement by enforcing identity-aware segmentation at the host level, without requiring infrastructure redesign or additional headcount.
Containing the Blast Radius
Lateral movement is how incidents become crises. Once an attacker establishes a foothold inside a network, traditional architectures give them room to move, escalate privileges, and reach the systems that matter most, including finance, operations, customer data, and intellectual property. The breach itself may be unavoidable, but how far it spreads is not.
Network segmentation is the control that contains the blast radius. It limits what an attacker can reach once inside, by enforcing boundaries between systems at a level that traditional perimeter security was never designed to address.
How Enclave Enforces Network Segmentation
Enclave implements microsegmentation at the host level, using identity to define what can communicate with what. Network topology is what attackers typically map and exploit, so removing that dependency closes a common path for lateral movement.
Identity-Aware Control at the Host Level
Traditional segmentation relies on VLANs and firewall rules tied to IP addresses. Enclave enforces policy at the operating system level, tied to device and user identity. When a credential is compromised, the blast radius stays contained to what that identity was authorized to reach.
Label-Based Policy Enforcement
Security teams assign labels to endpoints and groups, and policy is enforced based on those labels, independent of the underlying network architecture. This means no firewall rule changes, subnet redesigns, or dependency on how the network is physically structured.
Works Alongside Your Existing Architecture
Enclave runs alongside your existing network architecture, giving security teams a consistent segmentation layer without requiring a redesign of how the network is built. Teams deploy it where segmentation matters most, without touching what already works.
Built for Organizations with Compliance Obligations
Network segmentation is one of the first controls auditors look for. Enclave provides the technical enforcement layer and generates documentation that satisfies auditor requests across the frameworks most common in regulated industries.
The Strategy and the Infrastructure, From the Same Team
SideChannel's advisory practice has run security programs across hundreds of organizations. The same segmentation gaps appeared consistently: the strategy was sound, but the infrastructure to execute it required more architecture, more headcount, and more budget than most programs could support. Enclave was built to close that gap.
When a vCISO identifies a segmentation problem, a certificate risk, or a visibility gap, Enclave closes it. Security leadership and security infrastructure, from the same team that built both.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between network segmentation and microsegmentation?
Network segmentation divides a network into broad zones, separating finance from operations or guest WiFi from internal systems. Microsegmentation goes further, enforcing controls at the individual workload or application level. The key distinction is default stance: traditional segmentation often permits broad communication within a zone, while microsegmentation denies all communication by default and only allows explicitly authorized connections. Even within a network segment, devices can only reach what they are specifically authorized to access.
Is microsegmentation the same as Zero Trust?
Microsegmentation is one component of a Zero Trust architecture. Zero Trust is a security model built on the principle of never trust, always verify, meaning no user or device is trusted by default, even inside the network perimeter. Microsegmentation operationalizes that principle at the network layer by ensuring that authenticated users can only reach the systems they are explicitly authorized to access. Enclave combines Zero Trust network access (ZTNA) with microsegmentation to enforce both identity verification and network access control.
Does network segmentation help with compliance?
Yes. Network segmentation is a required or strongly recommended control in CMMC Level 2, HIPAA, CIS Controls v8, NIST CSF, and SOC 2, and it is one of the first controls auditors look for because it directly limits the blast radius of unauthorized access. Enclave provides the technical enforcement layer and generates the audit documentation needed to satisfy examiner requests during an assessment.
How does network segmentation help prevent ransomware?
Ransomware spreads through lateral movement. Once an attacker compromises one endpoint, they use it to reach file servers, backup systems, and other high-value targets across the network. Segmentation limits that movement by enforcing explicit access boundaries between systems. If an endpoint is compromised, it can only communicate with what it is authorized to reach, which contains the incident before it spreads to critical infrastructure. Segmentation is one of the controls most consistently cited in incident response analysis as a factor in limiting ransomware damage.
Start with Network Segmentation
See how Enclave enforces Zero Trust network segmentation in your environment with a live demo. No matter where you are in your security maturity, SideChannel meets you there, with the infrastructure and the strategy to support what's next.