Zero-trust, rooted in the principle of “never trust, always verify,” requires organizations to assume that every access request, whether internal or external, is potentially harmful. As organizations increasingly move their operations to the cloud and support remote workforces, the zero-trust security model has become more than a theoretical concept; it’s become necessary for private firms, regulated industries and government entities.
However, successfully implementing a zero-trust security framework within your organization requires two core capabilities: Visibility and automation. These give organizations the segmentation, validation, control, speed and accuracy required to implement a comprehensive solution in today’s complex, ever-expanding, multi-cloud environment.
But there are also some serious challenges to properly implementing a zero-trust: (1) Hybrid-network complexity and interoperability issues; (2) the strain on resources; and (3) the need for accurate data visibility and monitoring.
Before delving into the challenges, it’s essential to understand the critical components of zero-trust. At its core, zero-trust requires continuous verification, least-privileged access, segmentation and micro-segmentation to limit the movement of threats within the network. Unlike traditional security models, which assume that everything inside the network perimeter is safe, zero-trust insists on securing resources, regardless of their location. This approach makes it particularly suited for today’s networks, where traditional perimeters no longer exist.
In an ideal world, everything would be up to the zero-trust standard and incorporate micro-segmentation as a norm, but this is simply not realistic. Organizations are challenged to find the correct balance between compliance and security and to do so in a way that won’t slow down the speed of the business. Automation can help.
The keys to success with zero-trust are the ability to monitor and validate every request in real time, encrypt data even during breaches, and ensure that access controls are as granular as possible. This requires advanced tools for network monitoring, automated responses and robust identity management.
Hybrid networks – made up of legacy on-premises systems, private clouds, and public cloud services – have become the norm. Integrating these disparate components into a cohesive zero-trust architecture presents a significant challenge. Differences in technology stacks, protocols, and security mechanisms across these environments can lead to interoperability issues, making seamless communication difficult to attain. In addition, in the post-pandemic world where work-from-home policies are a part of every company, software-as-a-service tools must tightly integrate security policies. That said, this also adds another layer of complexity to establishing zero-trust.
Legacy systems are often a stumbling block when it comes to zero-trust. Naturally, these systems were not designed with zero-trust in mind, and retrofitting them to align with it can be resource-intensive and time-consuming. Although a majority of organizations are trying to move into more modern architecture, the fact is that sometimes it’s not that easy to walk away from your existing infrastructure. For example, when there is a merger or acquisition situation, a team may suddenly find itself with a whole new network infrastructure to integrate with their own – and it is unlikely that both networks share the same characteristics. To be successful, security teams must consider additional modifications or even upgrades to ensure that these systems can meet zero-trust requirements without compromising security.
It becomes even more difficult for organizations using multiple cloud service providers, as they must navigate different security tools, policies and access controls. Ensuring consistency in security measures across these diverse environments demands careful planning and integration.
Some methods of solving this challenge include:
Implementing zero-trust is not a trivial task; it requires significant investment in infrastructure, tools, and expertise. The initial rollout can strain an organization’s resources, in terms of cost and employee burnout.
Not only are any upgrades or changes to existing infrastructure costly but so too can the investments needed in new tools to monitor or manage those changes. Additionally, the complexity of zero-trust controls can be challenging, even for the most experienced security teams. This can mean further investments in training, and possibly new hires if the budget allows. All in all, organizations moving forward with zero-trust can expect to have to expend an increased number of resources in order to be successful. This will naturally be a bigger issue for smaller teams and organizations.
To solve this challenge, teams will need:
One of the hallmarks of zero-trust is its emphasis on visibility. However, achieving comprehensive visibility across a distributed network – especially one with multiple security layers – is challenging.
With zero-trust, resources are spread across various locations and cloud environments, making it difficult to gather and analyze data. The complexity of managing these distributed resources can hinder an organization’s ability to detect and respond to threats in real time.
In addition, the sheer volume of data generated by a zero-trust environment can overwhelm traditional monitoring tools. Without advanced analytics and automation, organizations may struggle to make sense of this data and have trouble rapidly and effectively responding to potential threats.
To solve this challenge, teams should adopt:
Despite the complexity and resources required to be successful, the needs of today’s employees are dictating that a zero-trust approach be embraced as the foundation for modern enterprises. By focusing on visibility and security automation, organizations can overcome the challenges presented and bring together legacy networks and new architecture in one cohesive, secure environment.
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