The Zero-Trust Concept And Use Cases Explained

About 63% of organizations worldwide have partially or fully implemented a zero-trust strategy. For those who don’t know what zero trust means, it’s basically a security model that enforces strict verification for every user and device that is trying to access applications or other company assets. So why is zero trust suddenly so popular? There are several reasons for this:

• A majority (68%) of cyberattacks and security incidents are attributed to social engineering and end-user error. This necessitates an urgent need to boost security at the human layer.

• The connected device landscape is expanding rapidly. By 2027, there will be an estimated 29 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices deployed. Vulnerabilities in these devices can pave the way for infiltration by threat actors.

• Employees are increasingly operating remotely and accessing resources and applications that are stored in third-party cloud services. Traditional perimeter controls are less applicable. Organizations will need security controls that are perimeter agnostic.

Understanding The Zero-Trust Model

Zero trust is nothing but a security architecture that enforces strict verification for every user and device that is trying to access company resources or applications. In the traditional perimeter world, organizations are accustomed to setting up firewall rules that “allow all, deny specific” or “deny all, allow specific.” However, the problem with this approach is that once a user (or a device) has access to the network, they are free to “move about the cabin,” gaining blanket access.

Instead of setting up an “allow all, deny specific,” the zero-trust philosophy advocates that organizations deny everyone by default, no matter who they are, and then start building granular policies that will allow users to go where they need to go. For example, if you are a Linux admin, then you only need access to Linux servers and not Windows servers. The benefit here is that even if bad actors somehow infiltrate Linux servers, they would be unable to make lateral movements, and as a result, Windows servers would remain protected from the infiltration.

Typical Zero-Trust Use Cases

There are numerous security use cases where zero trust makes total sense for organizations:

• Remote access: Organizations use traditional VPNs to permit remote access to employees. The problem with VPNs is that they enable users to have too much access. Zero trust is designed on the principle of least privilege (PoLP), which means that only those resources that are required by the employee to perform their duties are granted access. Permissions to all other systems, apps and services are restricted.

• Third-party access: A lot of organizations employ third-party contractors; however, you would rarely need to give a contractor the same level of access enjoyed by an employee. With zero trust, security teams are able to define granular policies down to each specific employee or third-party contractor. This reduces the risk of unwanted exposure and third-party-related breaches.

• Contextual security: Traditional security mechanisms authenticate users using their credentials or a second factor like an MFA pin or SMS code. Zero trust doesn’t stop at identity; it also considers context. For instance, ZTNA (zero trust network access) can be configured to check certain parameters or postures (especially for high-risk applications), such as user location (is the individual connected from their usual location?) or the health of the device (is the device requesting access approved and running the latest OS and updates?).

• BYOD: Many organizations allow employees to operate from their own personal devices (a.k.a. bring your own device). Using zero trust, security teams can enforce more specific security requirements on these devices. For example, they can require employees to have specific security software loaded on their devices and have the latest updates installed before being allowed access to certain applications. They can specify or control which device IDs or serial numbers can access resources.

• Hybrid and multi-cloud: Most organizations have some form of hybrid infrastructure. Some organizations have their data and workloads shared across multiple cloud vendors. Managing security in such a diverse portfolio can be challenging (you need multiple admins because all tools speak and work differently), not to mention the need for dedicated security tools like firewalls, multiple VPNs, etc., in each of these environments. With ZTNA, organizations can deploy a single agent that can work across both hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Moreover, if ZTNA is combined with technologies like secure access service edge (SASE), organizations will be able to create a more streamlined security strategy for their entire hybrid environment without having to invest in a lot of additional security controls.

• AI sprawl: Artificial intelligence models are increasingly being integrated into workflows and have broad access to sensitive data, assets and resources. Any surge in AI usage will ultimately force security teams to rethink and redesign their security controls in order to protect AI models from unauthorized access. ZTNA will play a major role here—security teams can group AI models, assets and resources into secure zones and authenticate each user or device that is accessing these sensitive resources.

Conclusion

In summary, ZTNA is both an effective as well as a powerful security solution to some of the toughest security challenges. Security teams can not only benefit from an enhanced security posture, but they can also scale their cybersecurity efforts much faster. If your organization has not yet boarded the zero-trust wagon, then working with a trusted advisor is highly recommended.