All businesses and organizations, irrespective of the sector in which they operate, are increasingly moving towards the adoption of an ever-growing number of digital solutions for their processes and procedures. To not do this means to leave your business open to potential issues, ranging from inefficiency to the loss of your competitive edge. And in an ever-evolving and constantly changing business environment that is definitely not something you want to do.
Yet, the rise of technological solutions and the growing importance of the online world have created some problems as well. Hackers and cybercriminals have the opportunity to access a much larger amount of private data that they can later use for malicious purposes. In order to avoid this unpleasant scenario and maintain their corporate reputation intact, companies need to invest more into cybersecurity. One of the latest trends in this environment is the zero-trust architecture.
What is Zero-Trust Architecture?
Zero-trust architecture, or ZTA, is a type of IT system design that implies that the devices and users aren’t trusted by default, even when they are connected to the corporate LAN and even if they were verified before. With ZTA, identity verification is implemented, and special validation for device compliance is necessary prior to granting access. The traditional approach worked by trusting devices and users within a theoretical corporate perimeter or via VPN, but most business owners agree that the current business environment is too complex for that since it consists of several interconnected zones, cloud, IoT, and non-conventional IT connections.
Zero-trust architecture was built out of a desire to address all these vulnerabilities, so that potential hackers won’t be able to breach through the defenses and enter the digital perimeter. Networks have become more trustworthy and are not so easy to exploit anymore. If you think about cybersecurity like a fortress, then the traditional model is the standard, relying on a sturdy gate and strong walls. It turns out that this isn’t enough anymore, making the development of ZTA inevitable. Zero-trust continues to verify the identity and permissions for all devices and users.
The implementation
Implementing zero-trust architecture can be quite complex, and you might need professional help to ensure that everything is in order. The cybersecurity marketplace offers a wide range of products, but if you want to have good results you need to do your research and find a managed IT service such as Cyberduo that guarantees your access to the latest developments on the market and that your systems are in perfect working order. The first thing you need to do is take inventory of all areas of your business. All users, both humans and machines, as well as your business partners and suppliers, should be integrated into this process to ensure its integrity. When evaluating new vendors and tech partners, you should always ask yourself if the way they handle things aligns with the requirements and demands of ZTA.
Multifactor authentication is one of the building blocks of the system, meaning that employees will have to check their identities through several channels, including multiple passwords and mobile devices. Workers will only have access to the documents and resources they need in order to complete their task, not to the entire system.
Additional features
Identity and access management, commonly referred to as IAM, is another critical component of zero trust, one that sees that only certain individuals can access a resource at a given time, depending on their reasons. IT administrators have the ability to restrict access to resources when they deem it fitting to do so. This practice is integral to proper data management and reliable IT security. IAM also deals with issues such as the manner in which a user gains a certain identity, the role that entails, as well as the protection and permissions the identity grants.
Network segmentation divides the system into smaller segments as a means of preventing lateral movements. All modern enterprise environments need this level of segmentation in order to enhance security as a result of the increasing sophistication of cyber threats. Perimeter-based defenses have become obsolete and cannot be expected to provide full protection anymore. Network segmentation implements more stringent controls as part of its policy for continuous verification, so attack surfaces are much smaller, the damage is reduced, and the malware cannot move freely within the network either.
So, even if a hacker managed to gain access to a certain part of the network, they won’t be able to hitchhike to other areas as well. Microsegmentation is a similar procedure, one which seeks to apply security policies to individual applications and workloads in order to minimize the attack surfaces even further. As such, devices themselves are isolated from each other so that hackers can again be stopped from gaining access to another part of the system. A robust and comprehensive defense mechanism is set in place in this manner, which can protect the entire network.
The integration of continuous monitoring also means that threats are identified in real-time, so that the responses are also as swift as possible and there’s no need to worry about the damage becoming too great to contain by the time you realize what is going on. A swift response can take care of the issue right away. Next-generation firewalls are also used due to their ability to offer deep packet inspection (a highly advanced method of examining and managing network traffic), application awareness, and the latest protection against threats.
The future
As business environments continue to shift and change, the rise of a solution such as zero-trust segmentation was unavoidable. Right now, more and more corporations are thinking about integrating it into their systems as well, in order to enhance their security capabilities and allow for a more automated response in the face of threats and hazards. As the technology continues to develop, it will most likely continue to integrate even more functionality, becoming increasingly scalable and dynamic.
Regulations and compliance demands will also propel the adoption of zero trust, so organizations can be expected to start adopting this technology over the next few years. Data safety and the ability to maintain the integrity of corporate systems have become top priorities for companies from all over the world, and zero-trust can create an environment that protects networks from these threats.
If you’re a business owner and like to know that the data you work with isn’t vulnerable to the actions of malefactors, you should consider building zero-trust security features for your company.
