Abhay Bhargav
Aneesh Bhargav
October 9, 2022

Zero Trust Order: The Future of Cybersecurity

Last May 12, US President Joe Biden released an Executive Order (EO) regarding cybersecurity looking to enhance the state of national cybersecurity in the US and to improve the defense of the government network after the disturbance affecting SolarWinds and the Colonial Pipeline hack. The Executive Order states the necessity to re-engineer cybersecurity defenses in the United States as well as start launching channels to hand out information regarding cybersecurity exigency and breach information.

Zero Trust Order

What is Zero Trust Order?

Zero Trust is a product security structure that mandates all users to be authorized, authenticated, and validated at regular intervals for security architecture and standpoint before being given access to any data or application.

With President Biden's Zero Trust Order, typical security procedures relinquish the blockade of IT systems beyond a safe network perimeter. It was popularized with the occurrence of hybrid prototypes, the escalation of endpoints and bring-your-own-devices, contrasting and interrelated systems stretching across clouds and companies' databases, and just its overall intricacy. Instead of trying to shield the perimeters, Zero Trust presumes that barrier security procedures like that will fail if not infiltrated already. It seeks to reduce the damage by assuming that security strongholds are ineffective when it comes to protecting an organization's database.

According to an article by we45's CEO, Abhay Bhargav, the emphasis on Zero Trust is recognized widely in the cybersecurity industry because once and for all, it's about time that organizations and companies relinquish the idea of "perimeter security". Networks have become quite permeable because of the scattered disposition of their operations, workforce, and the entire architecture of the applications they exploit.

Advantages of the Zero Trust Model

The change to Zero Trust is not about the benefits and drawbacks of distinct models compared with the simple fact that a new method of cybersecurity is being implemented, which has become essential. Standard ways to keep your data secure don't provide enough application security against the current threats. 

Microsoft conducted a survey that was participated in by 1,200 security personnel. It was reported that 76% of the participants are currently administering Zero Trust in their corporation. It's now very obvious that the Zero Trust security model is the future of cybersecurity.

Here are some of the strengths of the Zero Trust Model

  • Higher significance on identity and ways of demonstrating identity in a disseminated product security environment
  • Multi-factor authentication for application security
  • Micro-distribution of networks
  • State-of-the-art cybersecurity safeguards databases against the latest appsec threats
  • Effective against external and internal cybersecurity risks (cyberattacks, data theft)
  • Excellent application security for hybrid and cloud environments

Key Considerations for Zero Trust

#1: Zero Trust is a structure built on principle and strategies

One of the usual misunderstandings about Zero Trust is that it is essentially a stockpile of security-related formalities, technologies, and tools like the 802.1X protocol, software and hardware, micro-segmentation, and network access control.

Zero trust architecture methodology propositions require the progression and execution of policies and rules administered to networks and systems. Technologies need help to determine these policies. They eventually need development, review, and to be systematically organized by security professionals. 

Technology-focused applications usually have limited capability to just provide minimal benefits, not because technology is purposeless, but because technology is only as good as the planning, utilization, plan of action, and maintenance of the way one is using it.

#2: Visibility is the key principle of Zero Trust architecture

It's impossible to forecast something that you have no knowledge of. In the Zero Trust network execution, it's vital that you know how to recognize and assimilate all network and system access and connection points. Once these connection points are acknowledged, the connection factors, like current access control lists, ports, data flow attributes, and protocols, should be taken into consideration and profiled to business procedures and necessities.

These connections can be challenging at times for application security personnel because of their limited visibility and authority over them. It usually results in the companies providing unnecessary access to internally controlled connections in order to maintain business expectancy and demand.

#3: Zero Trust vs Verified Trust

There's no doubt that Zero Trust is a reasonably precise and earnest procedure, but the Verified Trust method is still a more pleasant and practical approach for most organizations. Verified Trust has a risk-based principle to technical trust and trust of connections compared to a factual one. This method is easier for corporations and organizations to implement. 

Verified Trust is more associated with the essence of "trust, but verify." On the other hand, Zero Trust does not allow any connection unless uncompromising rules and conditions are met.

Conclusion

The Zero Trust architecture model was structured to answer a single question: Is the user accessing a specific system really who they claim to be? If a corporation got invaded by a cyberattack, the virus can't move freely within the network since its movement will be regulated by the lack of assumed trustworthiness. This powerful security structure is a comprehensive approach that can be both business-enabling and can supply material improvement and advantages to the security structure of organizations that use them.

An excellent CISO and Product Team Leader will prioritize their team’s training, there is no greater asset in keeping your organization safe.  Start your team’s journey to enhanced security protocols here.