Traditionally, the IT industry has relied on perimeter security policies to protect its most valuable assets, such as user data and intellectual property. These security policies involve the use of firewalls and other network tools to inspect and authenticate users entering and leaving the network. However, digital transformation and the shift to hybrid cloud infrastructures are changing the way the industry does business. Relying on network boundaries is no longer enough.
Many companies are also adapting their business models. They are providing customers with the new digital experiences they need and want, while supporting a global and diverse workforce. Recent events have only accelerated this journey of digital transformation.
Suddenly, thousands of people across the company were connected via personal computers outside the IT department’s control. Users, data, and resources are spread across the globe, making it difficult to establish a fast and secure connection. Without traditional on-premises security infrastructure, employees’ home environments are more vulnerable, putting companies at risk.
To make matters even more complicated, many companies currently rely on a patchwork of poorly integrated security solutions and tools. This forces security teams to spend more time on manual tasks. They lack the context and information needed to effectively reduce the organization’s overall vulnerability. The rise in data breaches and global regulations makes securing networks difficult. For example, the average cost of a data breach is nearly $4 million in lost business and fines. They lack the context and information needed to effectively reduce the scope of organizational vulnerability. The rise in data breaches and global regulations makes securing networks difficult. For example, the average cost of a data breach is nearly $4 million in lost business and fines.
Applications, users, and devices need fast, secure access to data, which is why the industry’s security tools and architectures are designed to protect them.
Zero Trust addresses the security needs of this data-driven hybrid cloud environment. It provides organizations with adaptive, continuous protection for users, data, and assets, as well as the ability to manage threats proactively. In other words, this “never trust, always verify” approach is designed to give every user, every device, and every connection a sense of security in every transaction. Implementing a Zero Trust framework can also help security teams better understand their security operations. They can consistently enforce security policies and detect and respond to threats more quickly and accurately. However, it also offers additional benefits such as:
- Improved network performance thanks to reduced traffic on the subnets
- Improved ability to resolve network errors
- Simplified logging and monitoring thanks to granularity
- Faster detection of violations
How Zero Trust Works
Developed by John Kindervag in 2010 while he was a principal analyst at Forrester Research, Zero Trust Architecture is a comprehensive framework that promises to effectively protect an organization’s most valuable assets. It operates on the assumption that every connection and endpoint is treated as a potential threat. The framework protects against these threats, whether they are external or internal. In short, a Zero Trust network:
- Records and monitors all traffic on the corporate network
- Restricts and controls network access
- Verify and secure network resources
More broadly, a Zero Trust security model ensures that data and resources are inaccessible by default. Based on the principle of “never trust, always verify,” users are granted only limited access—known as least-privilege access. A Zero Trust security model authenticates and authorizes every connection, for example, when a user connects to an application via an application programming interface (API) or when software connects to a dataset. It ensures that the interaction meets the conditional requirements of the organization’s security policy. A Zero Trust security strategy also utilizes as many data source contexts as possible to authenticate and authorize every device, network flow, and connection based on dynamic rules.
Zero Trust: Implementation
To successfully implement a Zero Trust architecture, organizations must integrate information across all security domains. Enterprise security teams must agree on priorities and align access policies. They must secure all connections within the organization—from data to users and devices, and from applications, workloads, and networks. This architecture requires a well-planned strategy and roadmap for the implementation and integration of security tools to achieve specific, business-focused outcomes. For a Zero Trust model to work, those adopting it must:
- Make a company-wide commitment.
- Inventory all IT and data assets and assign access rights based on roles.
- Address certain common vulnerabilities.
- Organize data to adopt a data-driven approachÂ
- Segment networks to prevent lateral movement
- Isolate and protect workloads as they move between virtual machines and cloud servers.
From the outside, the process may seem limited. But successfully implementing a zero-trust model can help security teams gain context and insight into the rapidly evolving landscape of vulnerabilities and improve the user experience.
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Source: IBM
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