Palo Alto Networks opens Australia cloud location

Palo Alto Networks has expanded its footprint in Australia with a new cloud location that will provide local customers with access to a slew of cyber security services.

Aimed at addressing data localisation requirements, the cloud location will let Palo Alto Networks customers store their security logs in Australia while using the Cortex XDR extended detection and response platform and the Cortex Data Lake.

In the future, Palo Alto Networks customers can also use WildFire, a cloud-based threat analysis and prevention engine, while ensuring that files submitted for analysis stay in the chosen region.

While file submissions stay in the region, Palo Alto Networks said Australian customers can still benefit from global security intelligence and updates based on the network effect of more than 30,000 WildFire customers.

Steve Manley, regional vice-president for Australia and New Zealand at Palo Alto Networks, said Australia was chosen as a location for local cloud infrastructure because of its mature cloud market and reliable infrastructure.

The new locally hosted services are part of Palo Alto Networks growing investments in Australia, following the recent launch of local instances for its Prisma Cloud and Prisma Access solutions.

In 2018, it opened a cyber range training facility in Sydney to shore up the cyber security capabilities of Australian enterprises. The first of its kind in Asia-Pacific and the fourth in the world, the facility lets IT and security teams hone their skills through cyber security exercises.

Cyber security skills remain in short supply in Australia. According to a report by the non-profit Australian Cyber Security Growth Network, the country will need an additional 11,000 cyber security workers in both technical and non-technical positions just to meet the industry’s “business-as-usual” demand forecasts.

Globally, the cyber security talent crunch has been fuelling the market for cloud-based security services, which account for an average of 12% of overall security deployments, going as high as over 50% in areas such as secure email and web gateways, according to Gartner research.