Why Enterprises Need Zero Trust Security
Adoption of zero trust security can secure enterprises from cyberattacks.
As the workforce continues to move to a remote and hybrid environment, businesses should implement zero-trust models to increase security, threat detection, and risk management. Almog Apirion, CEO and Co-Founder of Cyolo, outlines why enterprises need zero trust.
With cyberattacks on the rise in the aftermath of the pandemic and most businesses continuing remote work practices, the ability to protect, defend, and respond to threats regardless of location is more important than ever. It is no longer possible to secure data behind a single network barrier. Because of this, more and more security solutions will use a zero-trust approach to protect the enterprise, its devices, and its data.
Zero trust allows companies to solve security vulnerabilities before they become major breaches. Additionally, it has grown in popularity because zero trust can be self-funded or initially subsidized with fees. This is achieved by lowering reliance on traditional perimeter security controls such as VPNs, firewalls, network-based data loss prevention (DLP), and intrusion detection systems (IDS). Furthermore, operational efficiencies such as active directory management, spending on automated user provisioning and de-provisioning, and much more can be eliminated by implementing zero trust. Let’s take a closer look at zero trust and why organizations need to use it.
Defining Zero Trust
Zero trust is a modern security model that ensures secure connectivity by removing transitive trust through continuously identifying and authenticating every device, user, and identity before authorizing their application access. “Never trust, always verify” is the premise that brokers how trust and application access are granted to users. These are authenticated each time they attempt to access a network. The network is also hidden from users, which prevents the network from being seen by unauthorized threats.
The zero trust security model changes defenses from network-based to identity-based variables. For granting access or gaining network visibility, attributes such as originating network and domain membership are no longer valid. Because of this, implementing zero-trust solutions reduces the area that can be attacked and thus improves security.
Businesses Need Zero Trust
Network and technology improvements have resulted in sophisticated enterprise infrastructures with many security controls and policies to govern. In this context, Network Access Control (NAC), network segmentation, Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB), application security, and other technologies are also included. Because of the operational complexity of this architecture, it is challenging for IT and security teams to grant secure access to all employees, whether they work onsite or remotely. It is more important than ever for IT teams to ensure that the entire workforce can connect to the business quickly and securely while working remotely from both Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and corporate devices.
The traditional approach to security that is centered on perimeters cannot meet the requirements of modern businesses. Inadequate maintenance and a lack of integration between network and application security open space for potential attacks and render the network’s entry points vulnerable. Even VPNs can let attackers gain entry. Consequently, hackers require relatively minimal effort to access the network. Enterprises are more vulnerable to data breaches, lateral movement, and leaks than ever.
This problem can be solved by adopting a zero-trust solution. The zero-trust model protects against cyberattacks from both inside and outside the network. It does this by making it easy to monitor and manage security protocols from a single site, letting services be separated while giving visibility and auditing tools.
Continuous Verification of Identity with Zero Trust
As a security framework, zero-trust requires all users, both inside or outside the organization’s network, to be authenticated, authorized, and continuously checked for security posture before being granted access to any application, system, or asset. This is done so that users can obtain access without being trusted just because they are on the corporate network or connected via a VPN.
Advantages of Zero Trust
IT leaders with agility can quickly add and delete security policies and user credentials based on the current business changes. Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) make the entire process significantly easier when authorizing permission for specific applications. Another benefit is that zero trust is cost-effective because managing and implementing the improved environment is significantly easier. Several use cases have been proven to be successful and can be implemented for remote work, Privileged Access Management (PAMs), third-party access, mergers and acquisitions, and other purposes. Most importantly, the zero-trust architecture offers comprehensive security that safeguards networks from external and insider threats. In essence, there is no longer inherent trust granted, greatly limiting bad actors’ possibility of gaining access.
Conclusion
The transition of the current workforce to a remote and hybrid environment is here to stay, and businesses should consider implementing new zero-trust models to strengthen their security posture, threat detection, and risk management. Integration of adaptable next-generation technology, such as Identity-Based Access Control, is vital to the future of enterprises. In addition, companies need decentralized models that fully utilize a company’s existing sites and cloud resources in a simple and flexible manner.
Users require continuous identity verification before they are given access to any of the enterprise’s communicating devices, and zero trust network access ensures that users, both onsite and remotely located, are securely connected to the working environment. Businesses need to have a comprehensive strategy for the future that is based on clear, easy-to-comprehend solutions. For an IT environment to be agile and proactive in identifying where potential threats may surface, a company’s security team must adopt a zero-trust strategy that makes security effortless for their end users with clear operational and cost benefits for all stakeholders.
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