Power Of Zero Trust Security In The Journey Of Digital Transformation

Enterprises aspiring to attain digital transformation for greater efficiency and productivity are often challenged with the expanding threat landscape beyond traditional perimeters. Cloud, SaaS, and modernized business operations are rapidly driving technology and business transformation. Cyber risks in this journey of digital ambition are perceived as inhibitors and are often overlooked.

To safeguard operations and strengthen the security posture, embedding cybersecurity into an enterprise’s fabric by applying the ‘secure by design’ principle is vital. This principle also facilitates the Zero Trust Security Architecture Strategy that enables an enterprise to apply security controls to the core of the IT landscape and assure risk mitigation. The Zero Trust concept is about operating under the assumption that your business is continuously compromised. It is a framework that helps organizations better define their access control strategies and ramp up authentication.

It is a concept that applies Defense-in-Depth across the following five key pillars of an enterprise’s IT landscape:

User: It is essential to define a trusted user/device and their access rights through robust policies and procedures aligned to the business. Solutions such as Identity & Access management as well as identity governance apply controls and establish trust between the user/device and enterprise resources. Key security controls include but are not limited to AD (active directory) / LDAP (lightweight directory access protocol), single sign on, multi-factor authentication, biometric, password-less, and consumer access security. In the current business environment, users are not limited to just employees anymore. Partners, contractors, and vendors are included in the business ecosystem who require access to business applications and hence, security needs to be extended across the traditional business perimeters.  

Device: Workplaces are becoming dynamic. It is critical to protect and secure company-provided or user-owned devices at par. Modern enterprise devices have gone beyond traditional laptops and desktops to include connected technologies such as OT/IoT, mobile, and hand-held devices. Zero Trust security for such devices include asset discovery, applying security controls to the core of the device, and real-time compliance to security posture. Device security controls include secure build, device encryption, antivirus, endpoint detection and response, device vulnerability management, and mobile device management.

Networks: Networks continue to be an inevitable foundation of businesses. While site/branch network perimeters are getting blurred due to cloud-first and internet-first strategies, Zero Trust security in networks remains critical. Zero Trust security into networks can be applied in two ways. First, by defining trust levels, deploying segmentation, micro-segmentation, and enforcing policies at each level, and second, by adopting cloud-first, internet-first solution strategies based on Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solutions. 

Infrastructure and Applications: Infrastructure and applications in datacenter and cloud are crucial and form the core of any business. Zero Trust security must be applied to the business core with security controls like Host AV/EDR, Vulnerability Management, Web Application Firewall, Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB), Container Security, API, App Security, and DevSecOps in the Software Development Life Cycle process.

Data: For enterprises, data is the most critical asset which requires utmost attention and protection. Zero Trust security for data begins with identification, classification, encryption, loss and leakage prevention, secure storage, and the ability to recover. Zero Trust security to data is needed irrespective of where the information is residing at a given point like real-time, on-cloud, in motion, at rest, or as messages and in any other form or location.

While enterprise-wide threat monitoring, detection, automated response, and advanced threat intelligence help to always defend from ever-evolving cyber threats, the Zero Trust architecture strategy helps apply defense-in-depth technically, enterprise-wide security policies, procedures, standards, and help enforce security across all key pillars of business IT.

Zero Trust architecture is considered as an apt alternative to traditional security architectures. It will be an option every organization will eventually adopt to build reliable security systems that would prevent any data breach or theft. Usually, security systems thwart cyber threats or attacks taking place from outside the organization but ignore the threats that emerge from within or have sneaked in without being detected causing disastrous consequences. With Zero Trust architecture, nothing is trusted without verification so, no threat can move freely through a network. Various ways such as data permissions and user authentication are enforced as security measures thereby securing an organization in a holistic manner.