It’s ironic that even with today’s technological advancements, we hear about a new data breach every other day. According to a report by IBM, the average cost of a data breach in 2021 is $4.24 million worldwide. Therefore, it is more important than ever to have strong security measures in place to protect your organization’s data.
What if you could move one step forward and implement Zero Trust security? This approach can help you combat even the most sophisticated cyberattacks and give you peace of mind knowing your data is secure.
What is Zero Trust Security?
Zero Trust security is a term used to describe a new way of thinking about security that doesn’t rely on predefined trust levels. In other words, there is no such thing as a “trusted” network anymore – every system and user should be treated with suspicion until verified.
The Zero Trust security model is becoming increasingly popular as businesses strive to create more secure environments in the wake of data breaches and other cyberattacks. Zero Trust solutions by NordLayer can help your business stay safe and compliant. Zero Trust can provide your organization with the security it needs to stay ahead of the curve by using industry-leading technologies.
Reasons Why Do You Need Zero Trust Security
Your organization needs Zero Trust security for a variety of reasons:
1. Data Protection
Organizations today are sitting on a wealth of data, and that data is only growing. Their information is often sensitive, and if it were to fall into the wrong hands, anyone could use it to exploit the organization or individuals within it. Zero Trust security can help protect this data by ensuring that only authorized users have access to it.
Zero Trust does not rely on predefined trust levels. It instead uses contextual information to determine whether to grant access to resources. This approach aims to protect data by making it more difficult for unauthorized users to access systems and data.
2. Improved Cybersecurity Posture
A Zero Trust security approach can help improve your organization’s cybersecurity posture in several ways. Segmenting the network and requiring authentication for all access makes it much more difficult for attackers to move laterally within the network and access sensitive data. Zero Trust security can also help improve your cybersecurity posture by enhancing detection and response capabilities, enhancing collaboration and communication among security teams, and increasing the organization’s overall security posture.
3. Protection from Internal and External Threats
Zero Trust is a security model that encourages organizations not to trust anything inside or outside of their perimeters blindly. In a Zero Trust security model, assumptions and over-reliance on location or identity are eschewed in favor of least privilege access and verification at every step.
The goal of a Zero Trust security strategy aims to protect data no matter where it resides: on-premises, in the cloud, or hybrid. To achieve this goal, you must classify sensitive data, and then proper levels of security apply to it – regardless of location.
A Zero Trust security strategy starts with the assumption that all traffic is untrusted – both in and outbound. To properly secure data, each user and device must be verified and authenticated to ensure data appropriately. This process can happen through multi-factor authentication, biometrics, and encryption. Once users and devices are confirmed, they are then granted the least amount of privileges necessary to do their jobs. This further reduces the chances of data being compromised.
4. Compliance with Industry Standards
Many industries have specific compliance requirements that organizations must adhere to. By implementing a Zero Trust security system, you can help ensure that your organization meets or exceeds these compliance requirements.
Compliance with these standards can help protect your organization from potential legal liabilities and financial losses. In addition, it can help improve your organization’s reputation and public image.
5. Reduced cycle time for Incident Response
Because all activity is logged and monitored with Zero Trust security, the cycle time for incident response can be reduced. This means that organizations can quickly identify and investigate any suspicious activity and take appropriate action to mitigate any potential threats.
6. Increased Efficiency and Productivity
Zero Trust security can help increase efficiency and productivity by segmenting the network and requiring authentication for all access. This makes it easy for users to access the data and resources they need while maintaining a high-security level.
7. Improved Customer Experience
Organizations implementing Zero Trust security can provide their customers with a better experience. Users are less likely to experience problems accessing data or resources by segmenting the network and requiring authentication for all access. Since the security model logs all activity and monitors it, it can quickly identify any issues that arise and resolve them.
Conclusion
Zero Trust is a security model that provides security for organizations by verifying the identity of users and devices before allowing access to resources. The main reasons you need Zero Trust security are data protection, improved cybersecurity posture, compliance with industry standards, reduced response time, increased efficiency and productivity, and improved customer experience.
