Introduction
Technology is growing at a speed like never before and in the cyber world so are the threats. Businesses globally are allocating more of their resources in protection against cyber threats and hacking to their IT products and information. Undoubtedly, one of the challenging cybersecurity strategies that are gradually emerging in organizations is Zero Trust Architecture. In this article, you will find out what Zero Trust Architecture is and what role it is going to play in future security.
What is Zero Trust Architecture and what does it entail?
Zero Trust Architecture model is a security concept that perceives potential risks are possible from anybody even when within a single secure system. This model was developed under the premise that conventional boundaries of an organization’s network cannot adequately protect organizational resources and they can only guarantee the security of a network when every individual user or device and action is checked. Again parting with the premise of access control, the Zero Trust adheres to the concept of least privilege, that is that a user or device has the minimal access permissions to do their job.
The core principle of Zero Trust is a distrustful approach: don’t trust, always check. This means that user, device and each activity, must be authenticated and authorized before being allowed to connect to the network and its resources. The model aims at performing a constant risk evaluation and verification of the network, users, and connected devices and the model then implementing changes to the security measure depending on the risk acclivity level.
Main Elements of Zero Trust Environment
1. Micro-perimeters: In Zero Trust Architecture, the network is broken down into small compartments called micro-perimeters. This approach enables organizations to limit the access, hence decreasing the likelihood of an attacker accomplishing his mission. Micro-perimeters in their use can employ different tools including, the network access control, software defined perimeter as well as micro-segmentation.
2. Multi-factor authentication (MFA): MFA is an essential part of Zero Trust Architecture as it supplements authentication because the user has to identify themselves using other means to gain entry into the network. MFA can be applied in the form of passwords, fingerprints, physical devices, or by means of an application in the smart phone.
3. Continuous authentication: In Zero Trust Architecture, authentication is not a one-off process as is in traditional security models. This implies that users are chased all around the network in terms of identification. Continuous Authentication techniques include risk based authentication, contextual authentication and behavioral analytics.
4. Encryption: Encryption is one of the critical means of protecting data that is in motion and data at rest. Zero Trust Architecture took advantage of state of the art encryption methods like TLS (Transport Layer Security) to provide security & integrity of data that is being transferred from the client application to the relevant API.
5. Automation and orchestration: Automation and orchestration are parts of Zero Trust Architecture because such measures would help an organization make a swift shift in reacting to threats and also ensure compliance with security measures. Security automation can be done utilizing a security information and event management (SIEM) incident response platform, or utilizing security automation and orchestration (SAO) tools.
Advantages of the Zero Trust Architecture
1. Reduced risk: With Za, the risk of a successful cyber attack is limited to the barest minimum through the principle of Zero Trust Architecture. This is so because the model does not confine threats from particular sources only, and also periodically checks the authenticity of the user, device, and the action performed.
2. Improved user experience: With the ZTA, the user experience can be enhanced since they get to access resources safely. Users can get all the information they need from any place, on any device, and through any network without the inconvenience of having to use VPNs or implementing stringent access restrictions.
3. Enhanced productivity: Comparatively, the implementation of Zero Trust Architecture can assist organizations in enhancing productivity by minimizing the time and energy kids consumed in managing and applied security policies. Automated and orchestrated measures enable an organization to respond quickly and minimally adversely affect its performance when faced with security threats.
4. Cost savings: It will be appropriate to suggest that, by integrating Zero Trust Architecture to an organization, the risk of requiring elaborate and costly boundaries such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems is minimal. This is because the model is centered more on resource control than on controlling the boundaries of a network.
Challenges and Considerations
Despite the benefits that can be gained through Zero Trust Architecture, the model comes with unique challenges and considerations to organisations. Some of these challenges include:
1. Complexity: Adopting Zero Truste Architecture can be challenging and hence resource consuming as organizations will need to acquire new solutions, products and talents. Organisations also have to learn how these tools can be integrated and implemented within their existent framework.
2. Cost: Zero Trust Architecture is costly, especially for organizations that are small to medium in size. The model’s implementation requires that organizations consider the general costs of tools and technologies required to support the model in addition to skilled personnel.
3. Change management: Years of accumulated experience showed that integrating Zero Trust Architecture is not just about using new technologies but requires organizations to change the way they think about security. This is often difficult to do, especially for organizations that have over the years focused mainly on outside barriers. Several change management processes should be put in place in organizations due to the need to ensure that employees accept change of the security model.
Conclusion
Zero Trust Architecture is one of the rising cybersecurity models that characterizes the future of cybersecurity. Based on the knowledge that threat can be located at any point of digital ecosystem and through the constant evaluation of user, device, and action legitimacy, Zero Trust Architecture allows an organization to decrease threat level, deliver a more productive user experience, boost productivity, and be cost-effective. Nonetheless, organizations have to understand the challenges and factors that accompany the implementation of the model before investing in Zero Trust Architecture. However, when well deployed with appropriate tools and approaches, zero trust architecture can help organizations navigate these new threats and keep cyber attack from impacting the ability to protect their systems and information.
