Zero Trust Security

Understanding the Zero Trust Security Model

The Zero Trust security model is gaining traction in response to multiple disruptive factors, and transforming how enterprises view security.

Today, organizations are deviating from contained network systems and are storing data both on-premises and in the cloud. With employees and customers accessing this information from multiple devices and locations, traditional security models have become outdated. Adapting to a mobile and SaaS-reliant workforce, organizations began adopting a Zero Trust security model in the late 2000s. Zero Trust, introduced by analyst firm Forrester Research is centred on the belief that organizations should never trust and instead always verify network access. This contrasts traditional security models segmenting access into a trusted internal network and an untrusted external network. Employees are only given access to information required for them to complete their job and network access is granulated factoring in users, locations and other data.

With data breaches occurring more frequently than ever, organizations are constantly looking to bolster access controls. Data breaches have many consequences for both organizations and the individuals whose information is leaked. In 2018, the average cost of a data breach globally was $3,920,000 with an average of 25,575 records leaked according to IBM. For individuals whose information is compromised, personal information could be sold, resulting in fraudulent accounts under their name. Still, organizations have been slow to convert to Zero Trust. According to an Okta Survey of over 1000 IT decision-makers from organizations with at least $1 billion in revenue, only 56% responded that they were actively pursuing Zero Trust security.

The Role of Automation in Achieving Zero Trust Security

For many organizations, Zero Trust is seen as an overwhelming task requiring multiple applications. Zero Trust relies on applications for multi-factor authentication, identity access and management (IAM), orchestration, encryption, analytics, file system permissions and scoring. Maintaining Zero Trust is another challenge. All resources must be accessed in a secure manner and on a need-to-know basis. Organizations also must inspect and log all traffic to verify appropriate use of information. While implementing and maintaining Zero Trust requires a sophisticated security infrastructure, large organizations have been able to execute successful programs. Google, one of Zero Trust’s earliest adopters, successfully implemented the security model organization-wide in an initiative called BeyondCorp. With BeyondCorp implementation, employees are now able to work securely from any location without the need for a traditional VPN.

Oomnitza’s IT asset management platform can help organizations achieve Zero Trust security managing all devices connected to their internal network. Oomnitza’s platform orchestrates device, user and access control information together providing a single source of truth for connected devices. By centralizing device data, organizations can automate operational security processes for Zero Trust security. Through Oomnitza’s workflows, organizations can automate tasks such as the creation of a service ticket when unauthorized access occurs, a device is unencrypted, and/or when an employee needs to be offboarded.

Organizations aiming to develop Zero Trust security require automated solutions to maintain controls as they continue to scale. Oomnitza’s platform allows organizations to create the infrastructure needed for Zero Trust by managing all devices with access to internal networks. While Zero Trust is a large undertaking, its importance will continue to grow with the increased reliance on SaaS applications and remote workforces. For organizations looking to incorporate the best security practices, Zero Trust gives both organizations and customers confidence that their information is safe despite the rise of data breaches.

Visit the Oomnitza website or request a demo to see how Oomnitza can transform your business today.