Adopt Zero Trust: A cybersecurity paradigm that assumes that no user or system is trusted by default, whether inside or outside organizational boundaries.
It's very likely that you've already heard about Zero Trust. Numerous experts have already discussed the extreme importance of adhering to this security approach to face today's cybersecurity challenges. In fact, many companies already use this method to mitigate the potential risks associated with modern work.
However, the fact that Zero Trust is not a new concept doesn't make it any less valuable to review what it could mean for your organization. In fact, knowing the basics on the subject is essential for you to develop a more robust security approach for the so-called “new normal”, capable of dealing with remote work, distributed teams and increasingly cloud-based technological environments.
What is zero trust?
Zero Trust is a cybersecurity approach that relies on the continuous authentication, authorization, and validation of all users of a given system. With this approach, everyone trying to access any level of a system must be verified, as the system never trusts anyone. This means that every movement within the system is extremely scrutinized, regardless of who the user actually is.
Thus, the guiding principle of Zero Trust is least privilege, which encompasses everything in the system, including:
- Forms
- Data
- Devices
- Identities
- The infrastructure
- Network
The goal of the Zero Trust model is to create a stronger digital environment that extends beyond corporate infrastructure to reach employees wherever they are. That's what makes it so valuable in the years to come: it's the perfect security model for the era of remote work.
It is worth noting that this approach involves moving away from the traditional “trust but verify” approach that has become the standard in recent years. Experts realized that assuming everything in a corporate system is trustworthy was a poor approach, as it would likely fail to identify real threats masquerading as suitable users.
How does zero trust work?
Although proper implementation depends on the system in which it will be applied, we can say that Zero Trust works following these principles:
- Everything is a potential threat: Every user and endpoint can pose a risk to the entire system, which is why the network requires authentication and authorization for everyone.
- Least privilege access is the main policy: After authenticating and authorizing a given user, the system allows only the lowest possible privilege level to do its job.
- The entire system is microsegmented: The entire digital environment is divided into small fragments that allow the administrator to better contain an attack.
- Everything is monitored around the clock: The entire system is under surveillance 24/7 to identify violations faster.
- It leverages the latest security technologies: Zero Trust always uses the most robust and latest prevention techniques, such as multi-factor authentication and active session-based risk detection.
Implementing Zero Trust in your company
The first step to successfully implementing Zero Trust in your organization is to understand the above principles in detail. This will allow you to design a suitable security strategy with this approach at its core. After that, you must follow these steps:
Assess your current security situation
To adequately protect your environment, you need to know its current state. This means analyzing what assets you own, including the platforms you use, the applications you integrate, and the devices that connect to your network, whether in the office or remote. Additionally, take a look at your current security solution to understand its pros and cons.
Implement new technological solutions to fill the gaps
Your security system may have flaws that need to be fixed. Use the necessary tools to complete them and review your protocols to ensure your work practices are aligned with Zero Trust security standards.
Redesign your security practices
Tool integration is just one part of improving your infrastructure. Next, you will need to redesign your security practices, changing them following Zero Trust principles. This might mean tweaking some small work practices or revamping your entire workflow. Either way, you will need to retrain your employees to comply with the new approach.
Establish a continuous monitoring protocol
After implementing new tools and practices, it's time to institute a control system that provides a real-time overview of your entire digital environment. While you have many alternatives, the best option is to use AI algorithms to automate surveillance tasks while improving your response times in the event of an attack or breach.
Zero Trust and distributed teams
Protect hardware used by your remote workers
Establish a protocol through which you can veto the devices used by your remote team. This is especially important if you can't provide this hardware yourself, as you need to be sure your employees are using the most secure applications and following the safest practices regarding software updates.
Create a protocol on safe practices
Every one of your remote employees is a potential vulnerability. That's why you need to create a security protocol that covers everything remote work, including seemingly simple things like password creation and MFA.
Help your employees strengthen their digital environments
On the one hand, this means checking the security level of their Internet connections and helping them to make them more secure. On the other hand, it could also mean installing a VPN on your devices for even more security.
Create an ongoing training program
As with all security efforts, Zero Trust is not a one-time effort. You will certainly change practices and protocols many times and implement new security measures. This means you will need to train your workforce on every change you make, something that can only be done through an ongoing program.
The future starts today
Zero Trust's rise to the forefront of cybersecurity is no coincidence. With the growing presence of threats and the multiplication of vulnerable endpoints due to the proliferation of cloud-based environments, companies needed a more rigorous approach to digital security. This is why many are already boarding the Zero Trust boat – because it provides them with the level of security they need to face the new challenges of the digital world.
And that's why you should start adopting Zero Trust today – because every minute you take no action is another minute you open yourself up to attack. Additionally, starting to adopt Zero Trust today will give you plenty of time to incrementally implement the solutions needed to make this approach a reality.
