Why the Zero Trust Model Is Essential in the Age of Remote Work

With millions of employees now accessing IT resources remotely, the corporate network perimeter has all but disappeared. That’s why the “zero trust” model has become an essential element of modern security. Zero trust is a system-wide cybersecurity strategy that assumes every user and device is a threat until their identity has been verified and access rights validated. Core zero-trust technologies include identity and access management (IAM), multifactor authentication, real-time user verification, device validation, privilege limitations and network segmentation.

It isn’t a particularly new concept — Forrester Research outlined a version of zero trust back in 2010. In fact, private-sector companies worldwide have been building zero-trust concepts into their core security fabric for some time. However, the mass transition to remote work has accelerated adoption. According to one recent study, 88 percent of senior security executives now consider zero trust a business imperative. Gartner has projected that spending on zero trust will reach almost $900 million in 2022 and exceed $2 billion by 2026.

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The Vanishing Perimeter

Remote and hybrid work models have created enormous risk of malicious network intrusions. Nearly all types of cyberattacks increased during the past year — security analysts say they detect an average of 17 million new malicious programs each month.

To continue supporting work-from-home employees, organizations must figure out how to clamp down on unauthorized network access. Many legacy IAM solutions are no longer entirely effective because they were built on the principle of implicit trust, giving users or devices with approved IP addresses unfettered network access.

That level of trust was tolerable when the vast majority of users were accessing network resources from inside the perimeter. No more, however. The huge numbers of remote and mobile workers are now inviting targets for phishing scams and social engineering attacks designed to steal network credentials. With those credentials, malicious actors simply have to log in to bypass conventional perimeter defenses.

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Zero Trust Principles

Zero trust augments perimeter security with tools designed to ensure that only authenticated users gain access to IT resources. More importantly, user identities are verified every time they access resources rather than once for an entire user session. Least privilege access principles limit access on a need-to-know basis, reducing the potential risk if a user’s credentials are compromised. Similarly, network segmentation prevents attackers from moving laterally through the network.

Another feature of zero-trust models is the software-defined perimeter (SDP), which cryptographically blacks out some network segments, making them undetectable to unauthorized users. An SDP limits access based on various characteristics, such as the user’s identity and location, time of day, device used, and type of security software installed on that device.

Data security is a key feature of the zero trust model. All data should be inventoried and categorized, with the strongest security applied to the most sensitive assets. Even after users are authenticated, classification and encryption tools strictly limit access to the resources they require for their jobs.

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Strategic Approach

Because zero trust involves multiple technologies and products, many companies assume implementation will be difficult, expensive and time-consuming. That’s a bit of a misreading of the concept. It’s important to think of it as an overall strategy rather than a collection of tools.

While zero trust may involve some new technologies, it ultimately requires organizations to embrace new processes and philosophies about what comprises effective security. Three guiding principles drive the approach — verify the identity of every user, validate every device and limit access privileges to the bare minimum.

Contact DeSeMa to discuss the benefits of the zero trust model. Our team of certified security specialists can help you adopt the processes and supporting technologies you need to securely support long-term remote operations.