Five Steps to Achieving Zero Trust
/Cybercrime has been on the rise for decades but has escalated in recent years. According to Check Point Research, in 2022, “global cyberattacks increased by 38%” and were driven by breaches in collaboration tools meant to target those working from home or taking online classes.
A quick review of the last few years helps us understand why this is the case. In the post-pandemic world, people are doing everything online, organizations are trying to figure out how to secure a hybrid workforce, and they’re also having a hard time hiring tech roles, particularly in cybersecurity – all of which creates a perfect storm of opportunity for hackers, data breaches, and other cybercrimes to occur.
Organizations need to take cyber incidents seriously – not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because these attacks can cause significant damage to the business through a loss of customers, tarnished reputation, or hit to the bottom line. In fact, according to the 2022 IBM Cost of a Data Breach report fielded by Ponemon Research, the average cost of a data breach has increased by 2.6% to a “record high of US$4.35 million.”
The unprecedented threat landscape is throwing new challenges at companies across industries, including a rising rate of cyber risks and increasing costs associated with data breaches. In this reality, organizations need to adapt their cybersecurity strategies to fight back – and many are turning to the concept of “Zero Trust” to do so.
Zero Trust explained
Originally coined by Forrester Research, the term Zero Trust assumes that everyone and everything on the network is not to be trusted (as opposed to previous systems that did the opposite – trusting users and looking for deviations from trusted behavior).
For example, an organization that strives for Zero Trust likely has implemented multiple layers of security – permissions, password-protected pages, encryption, etc. – to increase confidence that hackers won’t be able to threaten their organization. Creating this type of Zero Trust architecture is a challenge, but it is doable. And it pays off. According to the same IBM report referenced earlier, companies with Zero Trust strategies pay 23% less for data breaches compared to those that have not implemented such an architecture.
How to achieve Zero Trust
To achieve Zero Trust and implement a Zero Trust architecture, it’s important to start by understanding one basic principle: Trust no one and nothing. By following this principle, you’ll be able to put the right protocols in place that protect your most valuable assets and align with this concept.
For instance, let’s say you work for a financial management company. It’s highly likely that customer data is something you and your company prioritize protecting. Your IT team might then implement a virtual private network (VPN) to access customer data. This adds multiple layers of security, keeping hackers out and only allowing those in with the right permissions.
But this is only one example. Following, we’ve outlined a few steps you can take to go down the road to Zero Trust:
Identify your priority assets. Start by answering the important questions: What systems and data would your company classify as its “crown jewels”? What, if hacked, would cause the most damage to your organization? What would cost the company the most money? Once you’ve answered these questions, prioritize the protection of the assets you’ve identified.
Take stock of your users. Just as it’s important to identify your priority assets, you’ll also want to determine how many end users and administrators are at your company. Once realized, you’ll need to establish how they obtain access to your network and systems, and what their permissions are. There are a few different verification processes to consider, including multi-factor authentication, Privileged Access Management (PAM), and biometrics.
Follow the path of “least-privileged access.” In this concept, IT teams should only give end users the absolute minimum privilege they need to do their job successfully. This allows management to control the amount of access each user has and gives them visibility into each account and its permissions. It also becomes much easier for IT to monitor for risks and protect valuable assets.
Get employees on board. It’s important to remember that Zero Trust is a new and complex concept that requires a true mindset shift to achieve. Employees are your first line of defense, so you need to bring them along for the journey to Zero Trust. This means educating them on why your organization has shifted from a traditional security perspective to Zero Trust and how their roles, permissions, etc. could be affected by this change, and training them on any new security protocols.
Be strategic in mitigating cyber risk. Don’t just throw any verification process or authentication tools at your security program and hope they stick; otherwise, you’ll end up with a patchwork environment of disparate security tools that all work in isolation. A better strategy is to focus on how new and existing tools can work together to mitigate your company’s greatest areas of risk. Taking a more holistic and integrated approach to security will yield better results – both in terms of risk mitigation and ROI. And this is why identifying your most vital assets is so important – because then you can put the right solutions in place that will actually protect them.
White Rock Cybersecurity can help you achieve Zero Trust
Of course, Zero Trust is only as effective as your overall security program. So, you’ll want to take the time to understand where your program stands and how you can use existing solutions to the fullest before adding layers of protection or replacing existing tools.
If you’re interested in learning more about White Rock’s offerings and how we can help you achieve Zero Trust, reach out to us at salesinfo@wrsecure.com. #AchieveZeroTrust