After the coronavirus outbreak, companies adopted hybrid or remote work models. With these new models, companies have been able to work with talented and skilled employees from all around the world. However, with the remote work models, remote employees access corporate data on the cloud online which may lead to different security issues.
To protect and secure their clouds, companies are highly suggested to implement network security solutions. Preventing data leaks, data breaches and other cyberattacks can be critical for most companies, and the number of security issues a company may have increased with new work models.
In this article, we will talk about one of the most effective security solution means of cloud security: Zero Trust. And we will take a look at how it protects your cloud. But first, let’s explain what Zero Trust is.
What is Zero Trust Security?
Zero Trust is a network defensive shift toward a more comprehensive IT security architecture that allows enterprises to restrict access to networks, applications, and the environment without sacrificing speed or the user experience. In other words, a Zero Trust strategy places no trust in anyone. Security teams are finding it increasingly difficult to trust or identify who and what should be authorized or trusted with access to their networks as more companies undertake more computing outside their perimeter in the cloud.
Zero Trust Arhitecture
Traditional network security, often known as perimeter security, focuses on keeping attackers out of the network but leaves users and devices inside vulnerable. Firewalls, VPNs, access restrictions, IDS, IPS, SIEMs, and email gateways are all used in traditional network security architecture to create many levels of security on the perimeter that cyber attackers have learned to break. By default, “verify, then trust” security trusts users inside the network. Someone with the right user credentials might gain access to the entire network’s sites, apps, and devices.
However, companies can implement Zero Trust for cloud security because Zero Trust implies that the network has been hacked and requires the user or device to show that they are not the perpetrators. When attempting to access resources on a network, Zero Trust demands strict identity verification for every user and device, even if the person or device is already within the network perimeter.
Why do Companies Need Zero Trust for Their Cloud?
If credentials are hacked or the firewall is breached, the scope of the damage is limited by Zero Trust. Remote work is safer with this paradigm than it is with traditional approaches. And it also enhances organizational agility and productivity.
In order to implement Zero Trust in an enterprise network, the network must be controlled by the organization itself. It develops and enforces access restrictions to protect critical applications, such as those in on-premises data centers, against unauthorized access and lateral movement.
Since most of their assets are on third-party infrastructure, most companies are losing insight into who is accessing their applications and data, or even what devices are being used to access them (e.g., smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc.). They are also losing insight into how data is being used and shared.
How does Zero Trust Secure the Cloud?
Organizations can use Zero Trust to lower the risk of cloud and container deployments while also increasing governance and compliance. Organizations may learn more about their users and devices while also recognizing risks and preserving network management.
An organization can adopt a Zero Trust method to identify business processes, data flows, people, data, and associated risks. A Zero Trust approach aids in the development of policy rules that can be automatically changed in response to detected risks.
Organizations that switch from traditional perimeter security to a Zero Trust model improve their level of continuous verification, allowing them to detect phishing emails aimed at employees, lateral movement through the corporate network, database exfiltration via a compromised application host, and stolen application database credentials faster and, in many cases, stopping them before an intrusion occurs.
Reasons to Adopt Zero Trust Security Approach
The number of users, where they work, the devices they use, the number of workloads, your use of SaaS, adoption of a hybrid cloud environment, and so on will only increase the complexity of your network. A Zero Trust network makes it much easier to isolate problems and decreases the complexity of securing your assets. Moreover, there are so many more reasons to adopt Zero Trust Security.
Increased Cyber Attacks
During the covid outbreak, cybercriminals have targeted internet retailers who benefit from increased e-commerce demand. They’ve targeted banking firms as well as transportation companies. These firms could improve their security posture and become more cyber resilient by implementing Zero Trust architecture. They’ll be less prone to security breaches and better able to manage and mitigate financial and reputational harm as a result.
Shared Security Responsibility Is Necessary for Cloud Data Centers
The cloud environment necessitates a shared responsibility approach, in which the cloud vendor is responsible for some aspects of security while the company is responsible for others. The fundamental assumption of infrastructure trust is no longer valid. This shared cybersecurity duty can be covered by a Zero Trust approach.
Access Should Be Restricted
Employees and customers are no longer the only ones who use the network. Vendors servicing a system, suppliers, or partners are only some of the people who have access to a company’s applications and infrastructure. None of these non-employees require or should have access to all of the company’s applications, infrastructure, or data. Employees, too, perform specific duties and hence do not require full network access. This allows organizations to regulate access more precisely, even for people with elevated credentials.
Wrap Up
In essence, Zero Trust Security aids in the development of your company’s strength and resilience. Company decision-makers and security leaders should consider using the Zero Trust concept to implement effective levels of defense. Through network perimeters and the adoption of strong authentication mechanisms, Zero Trust Security tightens restrictions over access to information.