
Chris ScheelsJune 12, 2018
Securing Legacy Assets with AppGate SDP
Today’s modern enterprises are evolving. While applications are developed using modern development trends, there are also a large proportion of applications that are legacy.
And they are running the day-to-day core business functions at many enterprises – trading platforms, airline ticketing, core banking suites. These apps are accessing highly valuable data across networks to provide essential business functions.
Yet these critical legacy applications are not being secured by modern security protocols. Instead, security is through opaque unchangeable closed protocols and there is no support for single-sign on including Radius or SAML. The result? Huge risk as core mission-critical assets are open to attack.
What’s needed is a way bridge the gap between legacy applications and modern security solutions.
Designed around the user, and built to support today’s modern workforce. Appgate SDP provides organizations with secure access to all network resources including legacy applications.
Use Case: Financial Services Organization Secures Access to Mission-Critical Apps
A large financial services organization’s relies on legacy applications for day-to-day business operations. However, these legacy applications cannot readily integrate with modern identity and access management (IAM) platforms. The organization was challenged with ensuring secure access to the high value legacy applications that complied with regulatory requirements, including modern methods of user authentication (such as SAML).
Appgate SDP provided a Software-Defined Perimeter solution to secure access to this organization’s mission-critical legacy applications. Serving as a pass-through black box, AppGate SDP natively integrated with the organization’s IAM solution to secure access between the organization’s legacy and modern applications and address compliance and regulatory requirements.
Securing Legacy Assets with AppGate SDP
The financial services organization’s employee requires access to a legacy application that cannot consume SAML authentication – in this case, Ping Identity.
- To access the application, the employee is authenticated and authorized to access specific network resources with AppGate SDP.
- AppGate SDP consumes the SAML authentication. The user is authenticated and granted access to the legacy application.
- The only pathway to access the legacy application *IS* through AppGate SDP.
- It protects the system from network access through any other means, ports or connections.

Appgate SDP solves the modern authentication dilemma for a legacy application or system. By doing so, Appgate SDP:
- Extends the lifespan of applications that either cannot be refactored, or are too costly to refactor to take advantage of modern security mechanisms.
- Acts as a compensating control for application authentication, addressing regulatory compliance concerns.
- Improves the overall security of the enterprise, extending beyond the single legacy application use.
- Empowers the enterprise to gradually end-of-life legacy applications in a thoughtful and deliberate manner when appropriate, while still operating day-to-day normal business.
To learn more about Appgate SDP, click here.