Employees are not limited to the office building like in the old days. The remote working had effects on literally everything. Organizations today need a comprehensive security strategy to manage the complexities of securing the data. From perimeter-based security to Zero trust architecture, we have come a long way. Let us look into how everything used to be and how everything is today.

There was a time when the organizations only had to secure just the perimeter and everything inside that was counted as a trusted device or person. With time, technologies evolved and we have measures to secure each device/person within the perimeter.

In Perimeter based security: 1. External access is untrusted 2. Internal access is trusted

With remote working, organizations no longer have the perimeter, and made the attack surface increase. Excessive trust is always the main challenge to overcome and that is what the Zero-Trust model addresses.

Zero Trust is an advanced tactic intended to secure data and information by continuously verifying every digital interaction and avoiding implicitly trusting any access requests. The Zero-Trust model is built on a foundation that says, “NEVER TRUST, ALWAYS VERIFY”. No device or person is trusted by default, regardless of the location – whether within or outside the security perimeter.

The basic principles of the Zero Trust model are:

Verify Explicitly: Always Authenticate and Authorize.

Use least privileged access: Limit user access with limited permissions for a limited time.

Assume breach: Verify all sessions and attempts made for accessing data

This model assumes every incoming request into the network as a breach and looks at that request as it is from an unauthenticated source. So the response to the request is provided only if that request is proved to be from a trustworthy source. Under the zero trust model, all traffic should be:

Authenticated – Every user/device is authenticated and is proved to be legitimate to gain trust

Encrypted – To protect Confidentiality, the data is encrypted while transmitting between source and destination.

Organizations are allowing employees to access business assets from remote devices and locations. So, organizations can no longer trust everything within the security parameter is secure. Regardless of where the request originates from, companies should secure connections to the business resources.

With users and devices moving outside the enterprise perimeter, the business processes driven by digital transformation are increasing the risk exposure. The need to think of some strategy other than “Trust but verify” was inevitable.

To protect data, and securely provide access to devices and users from wherever they are, organizations needed a new strategy. The zero trust model can be called a powerful strategy to stand protected in the competitive market.

Zero trust controls should be implemented into all fundamental elements which are:

Identities: It can be people, devices, or services. When an identity tries to access a resource, that attempt should be verified with strong authentication and ensure that the least privileged access is provided.

Devices: Once an identity is granted access, it can access the data from anywhere via different devices. This increases the attack surface area and needs to be properly secured. The device should be compliant for secure access and its health should be continuously monitored.

Applications: Applications and APIs stand as the point of contact through which an identity access the data. The applications should have appropriate in-app permissions, control for user actions, and should be monitored for abnormal behavior.

Data: Data is the primary thing that needs the most secure options. Data should be classified, labeled, and encrypted. Whether it is in motion or at rest, it should be protected.

Infrastructure: The infrastructure of organizations every from one another. It can be On-Premises, Cloud, hybrid, etc. the infrastructure as a whole should be secured, monitored for any suspicious behavior, and apply patches/updates whenever it is available.

Networks: The data transfer is carried out over the networks. Proper controls should be placed in order to enhance better visibility of the data flowing in the network. The network connection should be monitored and end-to-end protected.

Organizations should ensure that their data is kept safely to be recognized in the competitive business market. We highly recommend increasing the visibility of your networks and speeding up your detection procedures. Talk to our information security expert to start your journey towards a fortified infrastructure.