What is zero trust security?

What is Zero Trust and how does it work?

The Core Principles of Zero Trust

Verify every access request

Zero trust is based on verifying every access request, regardless of the user or application it has originated from, before allowing it to reach its destination. It doesn’t matter who the user is or whether they are on the corporate network or at home. Every request is treated as untrusted and validated against identity and context-based criteria.

Provide the least privileged access possible

Zero trust relies on providing the least privileged access possible by restricting access to just the applications and data the user or application making the request is authorised to access, and not a network. This approach significantly reduces your attack surface as it essentially hides users and applications from the internet and limits the damage a malicious attack can cause.

Use granular, adaptive context-based policies

Access requests should be validated against a comprehensive list of policies that verify criteria such as identity, location, type of device, and even the application that is being requested. The policies should also be adaptive and trigger each time any context of the user or application making the request is changed.

Assume a breach has already occurred

To enable the above approach, effective zero trust security is built upon the concept that a security breach might have already occurred and so all traffic needs to be terminated and inspected before being allowed to reach its destination. This approach provides exceptional protection and assurance against attacks that attempt to infect as many devices and systems as possible, like ransomware and malware.

Benefits of Zero Trust

With the right zero-trust approach to security, your business can simplify network architecture, create a consistent user experience and bolster your cybersecurity posture across the board. Below is a brief overview of the common benefits zero-trust provides but you can read them in full in our article.

Key Distinctions between Zero Trust & Traditional Security Models

Zero Trust security differs from conventional network security models by prioritising validation of every access request, regardless of user or application origin. It provides restricted access privileges to authorised applications and data, reducing the attack surface and mitigating potential malicious consequences. With meticulous context-based policies evaluating factors like identity, location, and device type, Zero Trust ensures comprehensive access validation. It assumes a breach may have occurred, requiring termination and inspection of all network traffic. Adopting Zero Trust enhances network architecture, strengthens cybersecurity posture, and delivers seamless user experiences.

The fundamental approach to safeguarding your organisation against modern cyber threats such as malware and ransomware needs to change. Read our dedicated blog, Rethinking Traditional Security Approaches for Modern Threats with Zero Trust, where we further demystify Zero Trust, explore its relevance, and provide practical insights to fortify your organisation's defences.

Zero Trust Network Access vs Virtual Private Networks

When providing remote access, Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) emerge as distinctive methods with divergent principles. VPNs establish a secure tunnel to enable remote network access, while ZTNA adheres to the fundamental concept of "question everything and authenticate continuously." By scrutinising the identity and context of each request, ZTNA grants the most limited and specific resource access, embracing the principle of least privilege. Conversely, VPNs often authorise broader network access, thereby potentially exposing security vulnerabilities. To acquire comprehensive insights into these contrasting approaches and discern the optimal strategy that aligns with your unique security requirements, read our comprehensive blog post: VPNs vs Zero Trust Network Access.

What about Zero Trust & BYOD/Third-Party Policies?

In today's fast-paced business landscape, embracing BYOD offers unparalleled flexibility and productivity gains for your employees. However, the rise of third-party devices and Shadow IT brings new security risks and challenges that some businesses are unprepared for. To get you up to speed, we've created a short FAQ blog that delves deep into Zero Trust, addressing how it perfectly complements BYOD policies.