The world of technology is evolving at light speed today, and the hackers, attackers, and cybercriminals who take advantage of it are developing equally fast. In response, cybersecurity and IT has to keep up, establishing safeguards and defenses to keep out attacks that grow more and more sophisticated with each passing year. One of the methods that has proven especially effective at keeping cyberattacks at bay and mitigating their damage is zero trust security!
While it sounds drastic, zero trust security is a straightforward yet highly effective system, relying on the concept of “never trust, always verify.” This framework is deceptively simple, but can be a major boon when it comes to not only protecting your network from infiltration, but keeping potential breaches from spiraling out of control. For a wide variety of businesses and industries, zero trust security can be the key to network safety and security!
What is Zero Trust Security?
Zero trust security is an approach to IT design and implementation that relies on constant verification of all users and devices. Some security approaches might allow for leniency towards users or devices that are already “inside” the network, automatically trusting things like company-issued devices or accounts. This approach, however, means that once an attacker gains access to the system, they have free access to everything inside, and the opportunity to wreak havoc and cause massive damage.
Zero trust security mitigates this possibility by requiring verification at every level from every person and device. Think of this approach like securing your valuables in a safe inside your house even when the front door is locked. Zero trust security assumes that even with the safeguards you have in place, it’s still possible for someone to get past your outermost defenses, and works to minimize the problems they can cause once they’re inside.
Implementing Zero Trust Security for Your Business
Many traditional cybersecurity setups function on the concept of a “network edge;” in a digital sense, it’s the line between the dangerous outside world and the trusted inside world of a company’s network. In a zero trust security approach, the network edge is done away with, and instead of certain devices and users being trusted automatically, every instance of access requires verification.
This can be as simple as implementing multi-factor authentication, or MFA, into your security system, requiring users to provide another source of verification besides just their password (often a one-time only code from a dedicated app). Zero trust approaches also require security measures like password protection at all levels of a network– for instance, needing to log into applications and data storage separately even after you’ve logged into the main network. Timed sessions and automatic log-outs can also be powerful tools of a zero trust network, requiring users to periodically reaffirm that they are authorized to access the data or programs they’re using. Micro-segmentation can also be employed, limiting users to need-to-know access that restricts sensitive information to only necessary viewers. Other, more complicated defenses can fall under the zero trust concept as well, but at its core, this approach to cybersecurity can be easy to implement and use, but incredibly difficult for cybercriminals to outfox.
Update Your Security with Progressive Computer Systems
Because of the simplicity of zero trust security, it is a highly applicable approach for a wide range of different types of businesses, organizations, and systems. Financial institutions, for example, can benefit from the protection that zero trust policies provide to sensitive data, requiring verification even from employees and those already in the network. Medical facilities like doctor’s offices or hospitals can make use of the approach as well, limiting sensitive personal data to only the users who need to access it with micro-segmentation in order to protect patient privacy and confidentiality. Simple security measures can have major impacts when employed correctly, and zero trust security is the ultimate proof.
Today, any organization can become a target for a cyberattack, but with security measures like zero trust approaches, any organization can have the means of protecting itself! If you’re interested in learning more about how you can revamp your cybersecurity and IT systems with zero trust security, Progressive Computer Systems can help you, so contact us today for more information.