Jeremy Wanamaker | Feb 14, 2025
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As data breaches grow in frequency and sophistication, traditional cyber defenses are proving inadequate. In the past, security teams relied on perimeter-based strategies to build a digital moat around core IT infrastructure. However, with today’s countless endpoints, cloud services, VMs, and edge devices, the network perimeter has become fluid and dispersed.
| “Your organization’s cybersecurity is one area where being overly cautious is a better idea than simply meeting minimum requirements.” – Jeremy Wanamaker, CEO of Complete Network |
To address this challenge, the most battle-tested, security-aware organizations are opting into zero trust architectures. Zero trust works on the premise of never trust, always verify. The aim is to compartmentalize networks into separate zones and assume that all connections, whether internal or external, are untrustworthy.
If your organization is looking to enhance its security posture with zero trust, you’re in the right place. This article covers the basic principles vital in helping IT leaders protect their sensitive data and valuable assets in the face of an increasingly complex threat landscape.
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Zero trust network segmentation (ZTNS) is a cybersecurity approach that assumes breaches are inevitable. The entire goal of ZTNS is to shrink your attack surface by micro-segmenting networks into tightly controlled zones. Each request to move within or between zones must be authenticated, authorized, and fingerprinted before it gains access to the destination.
By exerting granular access control policies over each zone, security teams are able to make it more difficult for threat actors to move laterally from one area to another.
This ‘assume breach’ mindset shifts the focus from building impenetrable walls to creating a more resilient and secure network that can better withstand and recover from attacks. Furthermore, treating every network segment as if it’s already compromised effectively limits the blast radius of any successful attack by containing the damage to a small, isolated section.
As mentioned, the conventional paradigm of network security is often compared to a “castle-and-moat,” where the focus is on building a well-fortified perimeter to thwart external threats. Under this framework, devices and users inside the perimeter enjoy the implicit trust and privileged access to roam around freely, while outsiders face rigorous barriers to entry.
Although this proved effective in the early days of the web, it faces considerable limitations in modern environments. Today’s networks are highly dynamic. A latticework of cloud resources, mobile tech, and remote/hybrid workers has eroded traditional network edges. Without a clear perimeter, castle-and-moat security tactics fail to protect against threats like ransomware, malicious insiders, and advanced persistent attacks.
Recognizing these vulnerabilities, organizations are increasingly adopting zero trust solutions, which offer a more proactive and granular approach to cybersecurity as compared to traditional models.
Here’s a breakdown of the key differences.
| Zero Trust Security | Traditional Security | |
| Trust Assumptions | Zero trust models trust no one and prevent unauthorized access through rigorous verification. | Traditional security tactics assume trust for all users and devices inside the network perimeter. |
| Access Controls | Zero trust network access is granted based on authorized fingerprints and least privilege principles. | Traditional security grants access based on network location and broad permissions. |
| Response to Breaches | Zero trust assumes breaches are inevitable, restricting lateral movement and promoting faster detection and containment. | Traditional security, once breached, attackers can move laterally with minimal resistance. |
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In this final section, we’ll explore four key benefits of adopting a zero-trust approach, illustrating how it can lower your organization’s insurance costs, reduce your attack surface, and better protect remote/hybrid workforces.
Cyber insurance providers thoroughly review organizations’ security practices before determining coverage limits and rates. Zero trust models address many of their key concerns. As such it plays a role in reducing your overall cyber insurance costs.
Maintaining continuous real-time monitoring of all traffic, user behaviors, and system activities demonstrates to insurers that your security team has a comprehensive awareness of their overall posture. From an underwriting perspective, this naturally aligns with insurers’ risk mitigation preferences.
These capabilities significantly strengthen your position during tense insurance negotiations. Insurers recognize that these controls reduce both the likelihood and potential fallout of severe security incidents.
Legacy security architecture often serves as an impasse to meeting modern regulatory responsibilities. Outdated cybersecurity models typically resist integration when organizations attempt to “bolt on” new capabilities to maintain compliance with changing regulations.
A comprehensive zero trust strategy helps break down these silos, creating a more cohesive and adaptable security environment. For example, one of the fundamental advantages of zero trust is the ability to microsegment compliance workflows from other resources. With this approach, organizations can easily isolate regulated data and systems so that only authorized users and processes can access sensitive information.
All in all, this makes compliance easier to achieve and maintain.
Taking this concept further, many proponents argue that zero trust’s unprecedented visibility into an organization’s full data estate often exceeds standard regulatory requirements, positioning organizations ahead of compliance curves.
When inevitably new regulations emerge, the foundational elements of zero trust – such as strong authentication, least-privilege access, and detailed audit logging – will likely already satisfy a bulk of new requirements.
| Explore More Ways to Enhance Your Cybersecurity Strategy |
Since zero trust security operates on the principle of “always verify,” every network workload is scrutinized for any deviation from its expected behavior. This essentially blocks unverified apps and data from interacting with other systems, whether inside or outside the network. For example, it becomes significantly more challenging for malware to establish communication with its command-and-control servers.
Furthermore, even after verification, communication is tightly controlled and limited to only those users and services with a legitimate need for access. Inherent distrust of all network traffic therefore dramatically reduces the attack surface available and enables security teams to quickly identify potential security gaps.
When suspicious patterns emerge, teams can immediately detect and respond, rather than discovering breaches weeks or months after the initial compromise.
A significant shift is underway in how we work, as new data shows 60% of businesses have adopted hybrid operations. It’s become routine for employee workflows to transition from home offices to airport lounges to work offices and beyond as they juggle tasks across work and personal devices.
The speed of this transformation has caught many IT teams off guard, leading to the hasty implementation of ad-hoc security measures. Ultimately a zero-trust model is the best solution in these scenarios.
Zero Trust is ideal for a hybrid workplace for several key reasons:
| Choose Cybersecurity Experts in These Areas | |||
| Albany, New York | Bluffton, South Carolina | Charlotte, North Carolina | Savannah, Georgia |
We understand the challenges and obstacles businesses face in choosing the right security tools and approach for their organization. Rather than go it alone, it’s far better to work with a seasoned partner.
The team of seasoned IT professionals at Complete Network possesses a proven track record helping clients strategically automate processes and reach higher levels of efficiency.
Contact our friendly team at 877-877-1840. We look forward to speaking with you!
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