In the recent landscape of internet security, businesses are under constant threat of cyberattacks, data leak, phishing, malware, insider threats and ransomware. Organizational assets, sensitive data and online business operations are susceptible to a wide range of attack vectors and there are unlimited ways in which attackers can exploit the weakness in your company’s security infrastructure.
Computer viruses, ransomware, malicious adware and Trojan have also caused a drastic increase in cybercrime activities. Dave hatter, a renowned cybersecurity expert and industry veteran says “As more of the real world is getting seamlessly connected & controlled by the virtual world and our personal and business information is becoming digital, the chances of risk become increasingly daunting”.
The new trend of hybrid and remote working is also giving sleepless nights to security experts. Employees can now log in to their systems and access critical documents from anywhere, anytime. For employees who are working outside the IT domain, it is an exciting time to work due to better work-life balance, but on the other hand for cybersecurity teams, this new trend has created a wide range of new challenges.
Devices that are accessed remotely require a robust level of security to avoid cyber-attacks. Therefore, the zero-trust approach can be used to strengthen internet security by authenticating all devices, users, and connections before granting permission to access the IT assets and data.
What is Zero Trust Architecture: Overview
Zero Trust Architecture is a new age security model where all devices, applications, and users must be verified and authenticated before and after the access is granted. According to this model, no device or user can be automatically trusted, and permission is only provided to specific people, applications, databases, and resources with defined rights.
The zero-trust approach is completely based on the “never trust, always verify” principle. It means that even when a device or user is within the network’s parameter, they will not get automatic access to documents or assets. Instead, first, they’ll be authenticated as per a set of policies that will decide what they are allowed to access and what not.
It is a fool-proof information security model which was first introduced in 2010, by John Kindervag who was the primary analyst at Forrester Research Inc. This model was launched to protect digital business environments, which include private and public clouds, DevOps, robotic process automation and SaaS applications.
When implemented properly, the zero trust approach reduces the security threat for both IT teams and employees. IT administrators get complete visibility into all systems and devices, and all apps and services can communicate securely across network environments.
Whether you are accessing the network from home, any coffee shop, or airport, with zero trust approach, there is little to no chance of data breach, trojan or malware attacks.
Key Elements of Zero Trust Architecture
Here are some noteworthy elements of zero trust architecture:
- Network Segmentation: This is regarded as the cornerstone of zero trust model. By dividing networks into several smaller structures, organizations eliminate the flaws in traditional network models. When there is no segmentation, adversaries only have to exploit a single network to get access to sensitive data.
- Identity & Access Management: Access to information is granted through identity and access management (IAM), which requires a specific level of authentication and authorization. Only those who have been verified are given access with the IAM’s multi-factor identification system.
- Data Protection: The utmost security of data is essential to avoid data breaches and prevent leaks. It becomes more critical when a company implements edge computing, Software as a Service (SaaS), or Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).
Thanks to these internet-connected services, malicious entities get easier access points to compromise and exploit sensitive data. Moreover, it allows businesses to adhere to international rules and regulations for data security & privacy.
- Endpoint Security: The primary role of zero trust structure is to safeguard network endpoints from malicious attacks. As traditional network security parameters fade away after a certain point, enforcing robust endpoint security is of utmost importance to protect the network from cyber threats.
Zero Trust encourages the convergence of network and endpoint security to provide a comprehensive security structure.
Advantages of Implementing Zero Trust Architecture for Risk Management
Zero trust approach can help your company in managing the risk management practice through these three phases.
- Identification
The six pillars which are network, identity, endpoint, data, infrastructure, and application allow for a thorough assessment of assets and risks. Your organization can classify processed, stored, and shared information according to impact analysis. Prioritization is followed by actions to identify threats and vulnerable areas.
The zero-trust structure emphasizes all organizational assets and digital estate along with six specified pillars. By following the reference framework, your company can get a thorough understanding of the IT landscape and risks involved.
- Assessment
Continuous risk assessment is used for evaluating and enforcing access controls. A meticulous risk analysis of an information asset is carried out on a regular basis or after making significant changes. It empowers organizations to identify potential risks and assess whether their current processes and controls are adequate to bring those risks down to a manageable level.
In a more dynamic environment, constant risk assessment is advised by Zero Trust architecture. Each request is intercepted and explicitly verified by analyzing the signals on device, location, application type and data sensitivity.
Analytics and rich intelligence can also be used to detect and eliminate threats in real time, allowing effective risk management at multiple levels. Moreover, a powerful multifactor authentication method helps in determining the actual identity of a user and mitigating the likelihood of unauthorized access.
The device compliance check also helps in reducing the likelihood of users using outdated or compromised endpoints for accessing company resources.
- Response
You get real time response measures to minimize risk in every stage of the request lifecycle. The four primary types of response strategies are monitor, operate, tolerate and improve.
When zero trust policies are implemented in real time, it enables organizations to promptly find risks and take all necessary steps for its removal.
Steps to Implement Zero Trust Architecture
Now that you are aware of the benefits of zero trust architecture, it’s time to implement this architecture to prevent cyberattacks. The implementation process can be divided into four crucial steps that include:
Develop Policies
Before you decide to segment the zero trust strategy, you must create policies that characterize the whole structure. Every question must be carefully framed in terms of the network’s intended usage, who will use it, how it’ll be used, where it will be used and many other factors. This will prevent confusion and help employees understand the latest processes and systems.
Determine Vulnerabilities in Your Network
In the second step, you need to find out the ‘attack surface’ that can be targeted by potential threats. The term attack surface refers to the number of vulnerable points in your network. Cybercriminals can launch a wide variety of attacks to create an unauthorized or remote connection in your network.
These allow them to steal crucial information from your digital infrastructure. However, mapping out of the weak points enable your IT team to prioritize security efforts.
Define Permissions and Access Control
You should establish seamless access and permission at all levels for every user. Zero trust security verifies the access according to user identity, location, device, content type and the request to use any specific application.
Policies can be adaptive, so the privileges and permissions for user access are continuously reviewed or modified with the change in context.
Select the Best Zero-Trust Strategy
Every network is different from the others. One organization might find the solution beneficial while the other one may find it completely useless. For instance, micro-segmentation is the main aspect of zero trust security and can be a good start for businesses.
This is because the segmentation separates your hybrid network infrastructure into multiple areas. Moreover, it also helps you in identifying the appropriate security protocols for each segment.
Conduct Continuous Monitoring
Zero Trust implementation is just the beginning. If you want it to be effective, you must continuously watch activities on the network to spot threats and work towards improving the overall performance of the system.
Continuous reporting can help in identifying unusual network behavior and determining whether the additional security measures have affected business performance levels. Your reports will use a variety of analytics that can offer helpful insights into almost every aspect of the network as well as user operations.
In addition, with the help of machine learning, you can easily examine the logs that document network activity. This crucial data can assist you in adapting and improving your zero-trust network and implementing the necessary changes to avoid complex cyberattacks.
Best Practices to Maintain Zero Trust Architecture
While maintaining the Zero Trust Architecture in your enterprise, a few practices like network monitoring, regular system update, employee awareness, etc., would come in handy. In fact, it is recommended that businesses identify their digital assets, in order to secure them properly.
Identify your Critical Assets
You must know what documents and assets are critical to your organization so that you can secure them accordingly. It empowers you to prioritize security efforts and allocate appropriate resources for more vulnerable areas.
Network Monitoring
You must utilize network monitoring tools to detect unusual activities like unauthorized login attempts, unusual traffic on your network, suspicious activities, and more.
Regular System Update
The next important thing to do is regularly update and patch your system with the latest software updates. It’ll allow the system to address known vulnerabilities and new cyber threats, thus reducing the risk of any successful attack.
Employee Awareness
It may be hard to believe, but most cybercrimes are committed when someone leaves their mobile devices and laptops unattended in public places like restaurants, cars, transport etc. Using a company’s laptop to access public Wi-Fi or using unsecured hotspots may lead to data leaks, phishing or loss of sensitive or financial information.
Therefore, you should educate your employees about common security threats and best security practices. Regular training sessions can be conducted on various cybersecurity threats and their countermeasures.
In a Nutshell
As more and more organizations are realizing that traditional security models are no longer capable of handling ever-evolving cybersecurity threats, zero trust architecture is an ideal solution for protecting the most valuable assets.
Employing zero-trust security methods and protocols is the most appropriate approach to risk management. It not only identifies and mitigates threats in real-time, but continuously reduces the attack surface and enhances the security posture.