--- title: How Geography Influences Network Security description: Joe DePalo is Chief Platform Officer at Netskope, and the ideal person to help us understand how and why location matters in network security. image: https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/2023/Blog%20Assets/AdobeStock_275979294-1.jpeg --- [![TG\_LOGO](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/TeleGeography%20Hub%20Theme%20Nov%202025/images/TG_LOGO.svg)](https://www2.telegeography.com/) - [About](https://www2.telegeography.com/about-us) - [Research](https://www2.telegeography.com/our-research) - [Products](https://www2.telegeography.com/products) - [Solutions](https://www2.telegeography.com/solutions) - [Resources](https://resources.telegeography.com) [Log In](https://www.telegeography.com/login/login?service=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegeography.com%2Faccount%2Fhome%2Findex) [Contact](https://www2.telegeography.com/contact-us) ###### Data and Analysis Tools - [Cloud and WAN Research Service](https://www2.telegeography.com/cloud-and-wan-infrastructure) - [Data Center Research Service](https://www2.telegeography.com/data-center-research-service) - [GlobalComms Database](https://www2.telegeography.com/globalcomms-database-service) - [International Voice Report](https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-report-and-database) - [IP Networks Research Service](https://www2.telegeography.com/ip-networks-research-service) - [ISP Navigator](https://www2.telegeography.com/isp-navigatorisp-navigator) - [Transport Networks Research Service](https://www2.telegeography.com/transport-networks) - [Network Pricing Database](https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-pricing-database) - [WAN Cost Benchmark](https://www2.telegeography.com/wan-cost-benchmark) - [Product Passes](https://www2.telegeography.com/product-passes) ###### Consulting - [All Consulting Services](https://www2.telegeography.com/consulting) - [Submarine Cable Consulting](https://www2.telegeography.com/submarine-cable-consulting) ###### Maps - [All Map Services](https://www2.telegeography.com/map-services) - [Sponsor a Map](https://www2.telegeography.com/sponsor-a-map) - [License Map Data](https://www2.telegeography.com/license-geocoded-map-data) - [Cite a Map](https://www2.telegeography.com/cite-telegeography-map) - [Buy a Map](https://shop.telegeography.com/collections/telecom-maps/) ###### Industry - [Education](https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-for-education) - [Enterprise](https://www2.telegeography.com/enterprise) - [Tech](https://www2.telegeography.com/tech) - [Telecom](https://www2.telegeography.com/telecom) ###### Case Studies - [AI + Retail Telecom Data](https://www2.telegeography.com/where-to-get-global-telecom-data) - [EXA Infrastructure](https://www2.telegeography.com/exa-infrastructure-case-study) - [Orange Wholesale](https://www2.telegeography.com/orange-wholesale-case-study) - [The European Commission](https://www2.telegeography.com/the-european-commissions-data-backed-approach-to-international-policy) [Back to Resources](https://resources.telegeography.com) # How Geography Influences Network Security ##### By [Greg Bryan,](https://resources.telegeography.com/author/greg-bryan) Oct 31, 2023 [Networks](https://resources.telegeography.com/tag/networks) [WAN](https://resources.telegeography.com/tag/wan) [Podcast](https://resources.telegeography.com/tag/podcast) Today’s [*TeleGeography Explains the Internet*](https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast) guest comes to the security world with a deep background in cloud and networks. Joe DePalo is Chief Platform Officer at Netskope, and the ideal person to help us understand how and why location matters in network security. We first identify how the network has changed over the past few years, gauging its impact on the threat landscape and network performance generally. Also on the agenda: why middle-mile performance and security should be part of the equation, and how lessons learned from the challenges of creating CDNs are instructive about the modern issues in network security. Finally, Joe offers a particularly interesting take on a question that comes up often on the podcast—what does it mean to have a WAN in this environment? Subscribe to access all of our episodes: [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-wan-manager-podcast/id1518397175) | [Amazon](https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/706a488e-d4e8-45a9-99a4-c6e51c4a86ea/the-wan-manager-podcast) | [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/74XN1NIPcb34Gv1atFMGht?si=vG3SfwaVSGawNge05Opvnw) | [Stitcher](https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-wan-manager-podcast) |[TuneIn](https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/The-WAN-Manager-Podcast-p1334040/) | [Podbean](https://telegeography.podbean.com/) | [RSS](https://feed.podbean.com/telegeography/feed.xml) #### Key Takeaways ### The shift to an internet-first WAN, driven by cloud adoption, changes the security landscape and highlights the critical influence of geography. The underlying internet infrastructure, including the last and middle mile, was originally designed for a very different purpose and is often inadequate to handle the demands of modern cloud security services, leading to issues with latency and performance. Simply relying on existing internet connectivity or adding security on top of traditional overlay technologies can result in poor user experience, making it essential to consider the geographic location of users and applications when implementing security. ### Many enterprises lack an understanding of their increasingly complex network, which impedes effective security and performance management. The domain of enterprise network coverage is now vast and often outside their direct control, encompassing remote workers, various offices, and numerous cloud services beyond the major hyperscalers. Organizations often underestimate the number of cloud services they use and have limited visibility into their underlying carrier mix and network paths. Solutions that provide visibility and help deconstruct this complexity are necessary for enterprises to understand what they are dealing with before applying security measures effectively. ### Purpose-built security network platforms are emerging to address the geographic challenges and limitations of the internet. Unlike traditional internet providers or public clouds, which may lack the financial incentive to provide low-latency compute everywhere, these platforms focus on comprehensive global coverage, extensive peering, and running full compute at the edge to ensure optimal performance and security from any location. Drawing lessons from previous infrastructure evolutions like CDNs, these platforms aim to overcome internet deficiencies and simplify the security architecture for enterprises. ## Explore Related Content ![Stuck in the Middle Mile With You](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/2021/Blog%20Assets/railway-1245906_1280.jpg) ###### Podcast Episode Feb 8, 2021 #### [Stuck in the Middle Mile With You](https://resources.telegeography.com/wan-manager-podcast-what-is-internet-middle-mile) [Read Full Article](https://resources.telegeography.com/wan-manager-podcast-what-is-internet-middle-mile) ![A Changing WAN, Benchmarked](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/2020/Blog%20Assets/wind-rose-1209398_1920.jpg) ###### Podcast Episode Jun 29, 2020 #### [A Changing WAN, Benchmarked](https://resources.telegeography.com/benchmark-wan-podcast) [Read Full Article](https://resources.telegeography.com/benchmark-wan-podcast) ![Automate or Bust: What](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/2025/Blog%20Assets/ai-generated-8741372_1280.jpg) ###### Podcast Episode Apr 17, 2025 #### [Automate or Bust: What's the Real Benefit of Network Automation?](https://resources.telegeography.com/automate-or-bust-whats-the-real-benefit-of-network-automation) [Read Full Article](https://resources.telegeography.com/automate-or-bust-whats-the-real-benefit-of-network-automation) [![TG\_LOGO\_color\_horizontal\_SIMPLIFIED 1](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/TeleGeography%20Hub%20Theme%20Nov%202025/images/TG_LOGO_color_horizontal_SIMPLIFIED%201.svg)](https://www2.telegeography.com/) [Login](https://www.telegeography.com/login/login?service=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegeography.com%2Faccount%2Fhome%2Findex) [Contact Us](https://www2.telegeography.com/contact-us) ###### [About](https://www2.telegeography.com/about-us) - [Research](https://www2.telegeography.com/our-research) - [Products](https://www2.telegeography.com/products) - [Solutions](https://www2.telegeography.com/solutions) - [Demo](https://www2.telegeography.com/demo) ###### [Press](https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-press) - [Events](https://www2.telegeography.com/telecom-events) - [Careers](https://www2.telegeography.com/careers) ###### [Resources](https://resources.telegeography.com/) - [Podcast](https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast) - [Newsletter](https://www2.telegeography.com/subscribe-to-telegeography-emails) - - All Rights Reserved 2026 - [Privacy Policy](https://www2.telegeography.com/privacy-policy) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Greg Bryan", "url" : "https://resources.telegeography.com/author/greg-bryan" }, "dateModified" : "2026-01-30T16:33:15.226Z", "datePublished" : "2023-10-31T12:13:00.000Z", "headline" : "How Geography Influences Network Security", "image" : [ "https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/2023/Blog%20Assets/AdobeStock_275979294-1.jpeg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://resources.telegeography.com/how-geography-influences-network-security", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/assets/telegeography/telegeography-logo-blog.png" }, "name" : "TeleGeography" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org/", "@type" : "WebSite", "image" : "https://www2.telegeography.com/hubfs/Website/assets/logo/telegeography-logo.svg", "name" : "How Geography Influences Network Security", "potentialAction" : { "@type" : "SearchAction", "query-input" : "required name=search_term_string", "target" : "{search_term_string}" }, "url" : "https://resources.telegeography.com/how-geography-influences-network-security" } ```