The Perimeter Has Moved Closer to the Work

For years, network security strategies were built around a clear boundary. Traffic crossed a managed edge, devices connected through controlled infrastructure, and identity determined who was allowed in. If those layers were hardened, the organization was considered well protected.

That model still matters, but it no longer reflects where most risk unfolds.

Enterprise work now largely happens within browser sessions connected to cloud platforms. In practice, the browser has become the operational perimeter, yet it sits outside the inspection points around which security programs were designed.

Identity remains foundational, but it answers a narrow question at a single moment in time: Can this user authenticate? Modern attackers increasingly avoid breaking in and instead log in with valid credentials, operating inside legitimate sessions where their activity blends into seemingly normal workflows.

Security teams have long relied on threat intelligence and malicious URL blocking to reduce web risk. That still plays a role, but it assumes risk can be identified before or at the time of the initial request. Today’s attacks are more fluid. Pages can render cleanly and change after load. A static reputation check does not account for the context in which a user is interacting.

Many also make access decisions at authentication and rely on that decision for the life of the session. In cloud-first workflows, risk can change mid-interaction. At the same time, routing traffic through centralized infrastructure such as VPNs or inspection stacks creates distance between enforcement and the user’s activity.

As a result, security leaders are working to move enforcement decisions closer to where work happens. Instead of focusing solely on access or traffic routing, they evaluate browser activity dynamically at runtime, ensuring controls are applied in context and as interactions evolve.

The perimeter did not disappear. It moved. Effective strategies are moving with it.