Should you Trust the Zero Trust Security Model?

by Editor
Should you Trust the Zero Trust Security Model?

The Cybersecurity threat landscape in healthcare has evolved so rapidly that it has become difficult to trust anyone in your network infrastructure. Who can you put your trust in when it comes to your IT infrastructure? The answer is no in a Zero Trust paradigm. The network access control paradigm underpins this trust concept. It means that users should only be permitted access to a network or device once they have been verified and only to the degree necessary to complete a task.

In this article, we’ll have explored the benefits and risks associated with the zero-trust security model. Let’s get started.

What is Zero Trust Model in a Nutshell?

Zero Trust is a network defensive shift toward a more comprehensive IT security architecture for all industries, including healthcare. It allows enterprises to restrict access restrictions to networks, applications, and the environment without sacrificing performance 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 should be authorized or trusted with access to their networks as more firms undertake more computing outside their perimeter in the cloud. As a result, an increasing number of businesses are incorporating Zero Trust into their trust network architecture and enterprise security strategy.

A three-step method is used in the Zero Trust security model.

  • Verify a user’s identity via authentication
  • Implement device and network access control
  • Limit privileged access.

This paradigm promotes the idea that businesses should not trust people or entities outside their network perimeters.

Zero Trust Use Cases

The Zero Trust model has increasingly been formalized as a response to secure digital transformation and a variety of complex, devastating threats seen in past years. The Zero Trust security paradigm can help healthcare organizations be more secure.

You must establish an infrastructure deployment model, which includes

  • Hybrid, multi-cloud multi-identity
  • Legacy systems
  • Unmanaged devices
  • Software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications

It is essential to address use cases with critical threats, such as:

  • Supply chain attacks_ generally involve privileged users working remotely and unmanaged devices.
  • Ransomware_ a two-part problem, including identity compromise and code execution.
  • Insider Threats_ extremely challenging while users are working remotely.

Here are some considerations an organization have

  • User experience impact considerations, especially while using multi-factor authentication (MFA).
  • SOC/analyst expertise challenges.
  • Industry or compliance requirements

Each enterprise has distinct problems because of the type of business, current security strategy, and digital transformation maturity. If appropriately implemented, zero trust can adjust to meet specific requirements and ensure a return on investment (ROI) on your security strategy.

What are the benefits of the Zero Trust Security Model?

Let’s outline the main benefits of the Zero Trust security model.

  • This method necessitates the regulation and classification of all network resources. It allows organizations to see who has access to resources and for what reasons, and what security measures need to be put in place to protect those resources.
  • Implementing a Zero Trust security model is associated with deploying solutions for continuous monitoring and logging off user activity and asset states. It enables businesses to discover possible hazards quickly and respond appropriately.
  • This model helps expand security protection across multiple containerized and computing environments, independent of the underlying infrastructure.
  • It prevents data breaches and has lateral movements using application micro-segmentation.
  • A zero trust model ensures organizational security while providing a consistent user experience.

What are some technical challenges in implementing the Zero Trust Security model?

Here are the most common technical challenges faced by users/organizations while implementing a Zero Trust security model.

1. Network Trust and Malware

Without the complexity associated with traditional systems, organizations must ensure that any device and user may safely connect to the internet regardless of location. They must also be proactive in detecting, blocking, and reducing specific threats like phishing, malware, ransomware, advanced zero-day attacks, and DNS data exfiltration. The Zero Trust security paradigm can help your company improve its security while lowering the danger of a cyberattack.

2. IT Resources and Complexity

Security and enterprise access are complicated and ever-changing. Traditional corporate technologies are complex, and changing them takes time and resources. A Zero Trust security approach can help you save time and money by reducing the amount of work you have to do.

3. Secure data and application access
Traditional access tools and technologies, such as VPN, are based on trust principles, leading to compromised user passwords and data breaches. To ensure that their business is secure while allowing easy access for all users, organizations must reconsider their access strategy and technologies. While offering a uniform and efficient user experience, the Zero Trust security architecture decreases complexity and risk.

Choose the right Zero Trust Model?

We’ve gone over some of the advantages and drawbacks of the Zero Trust paradigm in this article. The benefits of putting this architecture in place go far beyond security. The healthcare industry being the prime target for hackers shifting to Zero Trust Security is not an option but a need. However, there are still significant dangers and obstacles with this strategy. Changes in the threat landscape may prompt businesses to adopt a Zero Trust security architecture for network access control and identity management. These businesses should understand all the problems and hazards associated with this security paradigm.

Security and IT teams of all organizations must concentrate on business considerations while creating a zero-trust architecture: What are we attempting to safeguard? Who did you get it from? It’s critical to understand that the entire security system is built on a zero-trust architecture. The strategy is stacked on top of the technologies and procedures, not the other way around.

As Protected Harbor proposes in its zero-trust network access methodology, zero trust can be supplied as a service. You can take a phased approach before deploying zero trust more broadly, starting with your most essential assets or a test case of non-critical assets. Whatever your starting position, a best-in-class zero-trust solution will provide you with immediate risk reduction and security management. Protected Harbor not only deploys the Zero Trust Security but a host of features such as remote monitoring 24×7, 99.99% uptime, malware protection, etc., to deliver unmatched experience and satisfaction. Click here to know how we do it.

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