Let's explore the fascinating world of Zero Trust security together as we start this informative journey. Throughout this article, we'll discuss the core principles and the implementation strategies of Zero Trust. But here's the twist: we'll present this complex topic through a relatable story. We will draw parallels between humanity's evolution and the difficulties faced in outer space colonization. Buckle up as we unravel Zero Trust mysteries and pave the way for revolutionary changes in your organization's security strategy. Get ready to unlock the secrets of Zero Trust and revolutionize your organization's security strategy.
Zero Trust Principles
There was a time when the Earth's inhabitants lived peacefully, protected by defensive boundaries that safeguarded their land and possessions. To move between countries, people need to show their passports as proof of identity. Luggage undergoes X-ray scanning to inspect its contents, while individuals pass through metal detectors or body scanners to detect any prohibited items. This security approach is commonly referred to as the Castle and Moat model in enterprise security architecture.
As technology advanced and humans understood the world, humanity achieved its longstanding goal of colonizing space and establishing a colony on Mars. However, this remarkable feat led to an unexpected crisis. Following the return of individuals from Mars, numerous Earth hospitals were inundated with patients experiencing severe heart problems, some resulting in fatal heart attacks.
Moreover, the people who got sick didn't show any signs of being ill before, and they were living their lives generally until suddenly they got very sick. Doctors all around the world were confused by this strange thing happening. When they looked at the patient's blood, they found weird antibodies they hadn't seen before. This made people worry that those who went to Mars brought back an alien virus to Earth.
At that time, authorities wanted to determine if the new illness had additional effects beyond the severe symptoms. They joined forces with global space exploration teams and security agencies to closely monitor this group of individuals. Strange patterns emerged as some of the infected individuals inexplicably gravitated towards highly secure locations such as nuclear power plants, military bases, and labs studying biological agents. In addition, some highly secure locations reported that employees were denied access in recent days. Physical security measures, including fingerprint scans, prevented these employees from entry. It seems like their fingerprints have been altered or modified and no longer match the registered records.
Afterwards, global authorities declared that our planet is under attack by aliens disguised as humans or animals. They are spreading an extraterrestrial virus that infects humans, letting aliens control from outer space. For some people, the virus can be deadly.
Authorities think that aliens launched a counterattack after humans landed on Mars. They believe the aliens aim to destroy Earth's resources, control global authorities and critical technologies, and possibly take over the planet. Global authorities stated that we should assume aliens have infiltrated our homes, hospitals, schools, and all communal areas, essentially living among us. This aligns with the foundational principle of Zero Trust: Assume Breach.
Additionally, they stressed the importance of not trusting even our family members or pets, as they could potentially be aliens in disguise or infected by the virus. It's vital to thoroughly confirm the identities of everyone and every animal around us, highlighting the second principle of Zero Trust: Never Trust, Always Verify.
Zero Trust Security Controls
Local authorities announced an increase in border security measures. Furthermore, individuals will now go through biometric checks involving fingerprints and eye scans in addition to showing their passports. This demonstrates Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), where the passport acts as "something own" and biological attributes as "something you are”.
They've also exposed plans to establish identity verification systems not just at boundaries but in addition at the entrances to public and essential locations. This strategy, called micro-segmentation, divides the perimeter into smaller segments to prevent lateral movement. Additional checkpoints are set up within these areas to verify identities and grant access to limited subzones with limited permissions. That illustrates the core principle of least privilege in Zero Trust, allowing minimum necessary permissions for specific tasks. People with existing access to sensitive areas like nuclear plants or military bases now receive temporary and task-specific access. Each access request undergoes identity verification and trust reassessment, showcasing Zero Standing Privileges (ZSP) with Just in Time (JIT) access.
A central system was built to consider additional details of individuals seeking access, such as recent activities, interactions, behaviors, and risk factors. This helps identity verification systems block access for entities that might be contaminated or pretending to be humans. This illustrates the importance of relying on advanced analytics and improved detection systems within the Zero Trust architecture. Such systems provide policy decision-makers with dynamic identity attributes and risk insights to policy decision makers, allowing for flexible, adaptive, and risk-based access controls.
Zero Trust Implementation Strategy
Local authorities acknowledge the challenge of rapidly deploying identity verification systems on a large scale. They've chosen to prioritize the installation of these systems in the most critical locations, such as hospitals, schools, food supplies, the central bank, and the presidential residence. This highlights the phased approach to Zero Trust, beginning with safeguarding the most critical assets of an organization: The Crown Jewels.
They also made the decision to identify and protect vital processes that are at risk. They worked with citizens, political entities, and organizations to understand their unique needs and challenges, identifying critical use cases. This action emphasizes the importance of identifying specific business scenarios for deploying Zero Trust, recognizing that a one-size-fits-all approach may not be suitable for all assets. Critical use cases with high business value must be identified and addressed.
Furthermore, they chose to strengthen existing security measures at facilities by adding extra controls. They emphasized the swift implementation of these controls, with plans for continuous improvement over time as new measures become available, rather than waiting for a complete set of controls. This approach shows that Zero Trust isn't just about creating new solutions; it's also about leveraging existing security infrastructure, setting achievable objectives, and adopting an iterative improvement approach.
Additionally, international authorities recommend that all nations establish a specialized team of Zero Trust experts tasked with creating a tailored Zero Trust framework. This framework aims to help local authorities implement strong security measures with adaptable and responsive controls, improving trust among citizens and between citizens and their pets. This highlights how important it is for companies to develop a customized Zero Trust framework that fits their specific needs.
Conclusion
New technologies like AI and cloud computing can make organizations more vulnerable to advanced attacks. We must recognize the possibility of breaches, both present and future. To address these risks, your organization must embrace zero trust as a mindset and security strategy.
This article focuses solely on implementing Zero Trust using a network-centric approach. However, an application-centric approach could be even more effective. With the application-centric approach, we can build trust between resources in an untrusted world, thereby aligning with the ultimate objective of Zero Trust. What if the aliens take control of the central Zero Trust system or bypass the biometric controls? How do we uphold the zero-trust principle to safeguard the control systems of a zero-trust architecture? Do we inadvertently place trust in the control system, thereby violating the principle of Zero Trust?
If you're ready to start your Zero Trust journey and need to talk to a specialist, please get in touch with me.