What is a zero trust architecture and how to deploy?

As enterprises become more and more complex, the ‘Zero Trust’ security model has become quite popular. The ‘Zero Trust Framework' fortifies the enterprises by enforcing strict user and device authentication. This strategic initiative helps organizations to prevent data breaches and cyberattacks by eliminating the concept of trust from the network architecture.

What is zero trust architecture?



The Zero Trust Architecture is based on the principle of “Never Trust and Always Verify”, which means only verified or authorized users can access the resources. Additionally, zero trust architecture requires verification of every person or device attempting to connect to the organization’s systems before granting access.

Enterprises must adopt an architecture that supports the concept of establishing trust across internal and external communications to completely achieve Zero Trust Security.

How to deploy zero trust architecture?



Well, zero trust architecture can be built on the existing architecture and does not require enterprises to replace the existing architecture. Here is a simple 5-step methodology to implement zero trust architecture.

Step 1 – Identify the surface to be protected



To implement Zero Trust, enterprises must consider all the computing services and data sources that share data with the SaaS, aggregators and different end-points.

Step 2 – Secure the communications



The assets located on the enterprise owned network architecture must meet the security requirements.

Step 3 – Implement session-based access



Before authorizing access to an enterprise resource, the trust must be applicable only for a particular duration. The authorization of access to any particular resource should not be extended to a different resource.

Step 4 – Create a Zero Trust Policy



Set access rules based on the attributes of the organization. The attributes can be location, time of the request, software version etc. Based on the sensitivity of the resource, behavioural attributes can also be defined.

Step 5 – Monitor and maintain



Enterprises must collect as much information about the current state of the network and use the data to improve the security posture continually.

Conclusion



In a nutshell, Zero Trust Framework gives you visibility and context of all the traffic. Additionally, it helps you identify the business processes, data and users that can be updated automatically based on the risks.

Many companies are moving towards the cloud, and this is where one should start their ‘Zero Trust’ journey. Companies can start implementing zero trust architecture with small steps like – classifying the organization’s resources, implementing the verification mechanisms, granting users only the required privilege etc.

Amvion Labs helps you protect your IT infrastructure by implementing a Zero Trust framework. With the Zero Trust Model, you can employ a data-centric approach to address security risks.

Get in touch with us to learn how you can turn the Zero Trust security into reality for your organization.

https://amvionlabs.com/