To accomplish Zero Trust network security, an organization needs to do more than just rely on complex login and password requirements. By employing Zero Trust architecture, an organization can take advantage of one of the most secure and reliable ways to protect its critical IT assets from external threats and inappropriate users.
But what exactly is Zero Trust Security and how does it work to help protect your business from cyber threats?
What is Zero Trust Network Security?
Zero Trust is a dedicated IT infrastructure that is designed to help secure organizations by asserting that no user or application should be trusted by default. Instead, Zero Trust network security controls who has access to the network or system using least-privileged access controls and strict user authentication. Trust is thereby established based on context, such as through verification of a user’s identity and location, the security posture of the endpoint, or the app or service being requested, and security policy checks are conducted at each step.
At its core, Zero Trust adheres to three principles to keep an organization’s network and data secure:
- Terminate every connection to allow an inline proxy architecture to inspect all traffic before granting access
- Protect data using granular context-based policies
- Reduce risk by eliminating the attack surface
When designed and implemented properly, Zero Trust architecture provides an organization with a simpler network infrastructure, a better user experience, and stronger defense against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
Zero Trust Architecture
In 2010, John Kindervag, an analyst at Forrester Research at the time, introduced the idea that an organization shouldn’t trust anything inside or outside its perimeters, and thus coined the term “zero trust.” According to Kindervag, Zero Trust architecture should “never trust, always verify.”
As a result, Zero Trust architecture delivers greater visibility and control over the network’s users and traffic, especially that which is encrypted. It does this by monitoring and verifying all traffic between all parts of the environment; and by utilizing strong multifactor authentication (MFA) tools like biometrics and/or one-time codes.
In a well-built Zero Trust architecture, rigid network segmentation is no longer employed. Rather, your data, workflows, services, and other digital assets are protected by software-defined micro-segmentation. This allows you to keep these sensitive items secure anywhere you choose to store them, be that in an on- or off-site data center or in a distributed hybrid or multi-cloud environment.
Cyber threats can affect any organization at any time and because they are always evolving, you need the best protection you can get to protect your data and other digital assets. Zero Trust Security is one of the strongest and most effective ways to strengthen your cybersecurity. Partnering with UOTech.co will help ensure your organization is protected using the very latest network and endpoint technologies and up-to-the-minute threat intelligence.
To learn more about our Zero Trust Security architecture design services, call us today at (516) 500-7789 or click here to send us a message online.