Cybercrime is one of the paramount threats to every business across the globe, and one of the major issues with mankind. Zero Trust Security is a strategic approach to cybersecurity that safeguards a business by eradicating implicit trust and constantly authenticating every single phase of digital interactions. As digital transformation is fast-tracking, implementing a Zero Trust Security model has become more vital.

Zero Trust Security has turned out to be one of most used buzzwords in cybersecurity. However, there are various misconceptions prevailing in the industry. Let’s first understand what Zero Trust Security is.

Zero Trust Security is a strategic approach to cybersecurity that safeguards a business by eradicating implicit trust and constantly authenticating every single phase of digital interactions. Based on the principle of “never trust, always validate”, Zero Trust Security is developed for protecting next-generation digital environments and for enabling easy digital transformation by using robust verification techniques, offering Layer 7 threat prevention, averting lateral movements, leveraging segmentation of networks, and streamlining granular (minimum access) policies.

Conventional security models work on the outdated hypothesis that – everything within the network of a business must be implicitly trusted. This implicit trust means once inside a business’ network, users – including threat performers as well as malicious insiders – are open to move laterally and get access to or withdraw sensitive data owing to an absence of granular security panels. Zero Trust Security model was formed on the basis of the understanding that ‘never trust implicitly, always verify every user’.

Why is Zero Trust Security Gaining Massive Importance?

According to the Official Annual Cybercrime Report of 2019 by Cybersecurity Ventures, cybercrime is one of the paramount threats to every business across the globe, and one of the major issues with mankind.

A dearth of data security, side effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and an upsurge in fraudulent activities have resulted in a massive rise in hacking and breaching of sensitive data from sources that are highly common in a workplace, for instance: mobile and IoT (internet of things) devices. Besides this, the pandemic has boosted remote working models, thus building pathways for cyber-attacks.

Realizing that the prevailing cybersecurity tactics are falling short, business leaders are hunting for something superior – and are finding that the Zero Trust Security approach can bring in the best outcomes. The demand for zero trust security is expected to gain significant boost in the years to come, as the need for better data connectivity and the demand for advanced data security solutions in various companies is bulging. As per a Report by Research Dive, the global zero trust security market is foreseen to surpass a revenue of $87,162.8 million by 2030.

Benefits of Zero Trust Security Framework

Modern-day cloud networks are most likely to be attractive sources for cybercriminals focusing to abolish, steal or ransom business-critical and sensitive data like intellectual property (IP), personally identifiable information (PII), and financial data. Although no security plan is impeccable and data breaches can never be completely eradicated, Zero Trust Security is one of the highly competent strategies in today’s digital world. It decreases the attack surface and alleviates the impact and harshness of cyber-attacks, thus plummeting the time as well as cost of retorting to and cleaning up after a data breach incidence.

Every business should not trust any connection and hence, appropriate authentication is vital in the present day IT networks. In addition, an upsurge in discernibility will make the life of IT and security departments – from the manager level all the way up to the CISO (chief information security officer) – much stress-free.

The Bottom Line

As digital transformation is fast-tracking in the form of a mounting hybrid workforce, continuous shift to cloud networks, and advancement of security processes, implementing a Zero Trust Security model has become more vital. If done rightly, a Zero Trust Security framework can result in greater levels of security, and also reduce security intricacy and operational overheads. Industry leaders believe that if a business wants to stay away from data breaches, zero trust security is the best way how.