Zero Trust Architecture

Zero Trust is a security model introduced in 2010 by John Kindervag, a former Forrester analyst. Since then, Zero Trust has become one of the most common patterns in cybersecurity. In the last few years, the significant data breaches show that all companies, from small to largest, need to be more active in security. The Zero Trust Model is the right fit for this business. This article will discuss what Zero Trust architecture is, why it is so important, its principles, and principles. Good reading.

What is Zero Trust?

Zero Trust is a security model that requires strict authentication of devices trying to access resources on the network, regardless of whether a user is inside or outside the network environment. There is no technology directly related to the zero trust architecture; Zero Trust is a cybersecurity approach that covers many different principles and technologies.

Zero Trust follows the "trust but verification" logic as an approach different from traditional network security. Traditional methods automatically trust users and endpoints within organization boundaries, expose the organization to in-house attackers, and allow unauthorized users to access various rights within the company.

As a result, all-access authorizations and requests need to be checked before making any connections to your organization's systems or cloud-based technologies. Therefore, to implement the Zero Trust model, each item we will list below should be carefully controlled:

• operating system versions 

• vulnerabilities 

• installed apps 

• user logins 

• security or event detection 

• user authentication 

Besides, to prevent potential attacks on your company beforehand and to test the reliability of your network structure and system features, you need to do penetration testing according to the platform you use. For this test, you can perform a fast and reliable test from the link. For penetration tests on different platforms, you can access the Product & Service section on the site.

Why is it Important?

Zero Trust is one of the most effective ways for organizations to control all types of access to their apps, networks, and data. It combines many different preventive techniques such as authentication, endpoint security for one purpose to deter potential attackers and restrict their access in case of a breach. This is to ensure the safety of your data and any critical system on behalf of the company.

A company that adheres to Zero Trust security frustrates and easily identifies any attackers from the internal network. It increases the number of endpoints in its network and expands its infrastructure to include cloud-based applications and servers. Also, security policies are essential for organizations that have global remote employees. 

A study conducted by IBM has examined the global financial impact of data breaches and reported that each company lost an average of $ 3.86 million per breach. The main reason for these breaches was employee accounts that were compromised. As a result of these events, 80% of the company's customers caused the disclosure of personally defined information. For this and the reasons we have listed above, Zero Trust Architecture ensures security for every device, data, human, network, and workplace. It reduces the risk of attacks made there.

5 Focal Points of Zero Trust Architecture

Zero Trust Data

Zero Trust architecture starts by first protecting data and then creating additional layers of security. Suppose an attacker can circumvent various controls under the Zero Trust architecture or manage to exploit misconfigurations and intrusion into the system. In that case, they will have limited access to data and have time to be detected by the system and respond to critical data before they reach it. Since any data is the main target for attackers, it makes perfect sense that the first thing Zero Trust defends is data. It will also detect potential threats and reduce response time if it is determined where company data resides and who can access it to protect data.

Zero Trust Network

Attackers must first be able to roam the network in order to attack components on the network, such as your database, or externally or internally. Zero Trust Network prevents attackers from wandering around your network as you wish by separating the networks into different sections with various firewall technologies and isolating them as much as possible.

Zero Trust People

People have always been the weakest link in cybersecurity because people can be deceived to access critical information or areas. Therefore, prevent all users on your network from reaching various regions, both within the network and on the Internet, and verify if each transaction is working on your network.

Zero Trust Workloads

Zero Trust workloads is a term used to refer to all applications and software that interface between customers and your company. The applications and software you use are potential threats if they are patched because an attacker could infiltrate such incomplete patches or improperly configured systems. Therefore, if you consider everything from the operating system to the plugins you use as an attack vector and verify each vector accordingly, you will have the highest security level.

Zero Trust Devices

With the introduction of IoT (Internet Of Things) into our world, the number of devices on the network has increased significantly in recent years. That's why a topic called Zero Trust Devices is becoming increasingly important. Each of the devices connected to your system can be a tool for attackers to log into your network. The security teams in your company must be able to isolate and control each device on the network from another, so even if the attackers seize one device, they should not access another device using that device.

3 Principles of Zero Trust Model

Request verified access to all resources

The basic principle of the Zero Trust Model is that all devices are verified while accessing any resource. Whenever a user tries to access any file share or application, continually verify that user's request to access the resource they want. Regardless of the user's authority, you should consider every access request to be a threat unless the desired resource request is approved.

You can use remote authentication and various protocols to enforce these controls.

Restrict user access

We mean by restricting user access because each employee only has access to resources in his or her area of work. For example, it is very unusual for an ordinary employee to access the company's database. For these and other reasons, by limiting the access of every user, we prevent an attacker from accessing critical information of the company from an account they have leaked.

Create new groups and assign authorized users to manage these groups. Determine the access of the groups you create according to the various tasks they will do, and assign the authorized users you call to the head of the groups, which group will access and where. In this way, each user will be prevented from progressing to critical information if an attacked account is captured.

Record Everything

Zero Trust principles say that everything needs to be audited and verified. It checks searches, file access requests, e-mails within each network.

Monitoring and logging is unquestionably the perfect fit for maintaining a Zero Trust model. When data security analytics are applied, you can easily distinguish between a regular user and a user captured by an attacker. In this way, you also have the opportunity to prevent an attack before it even begins.

Conclusion

According to a study conducted in 2018, Zero Trust Architecture is one of the most researched technologies. Considering the challenges and obstacles that each technologist must manage differently, it makes sense to use a general solution to such problems. For example, it makes sense to manage data access permissions and validate requests. You can significantly reduce the amount and impact of attacks on your company by asking experts about each step in this architecture and tightening the relevant area.