Zero Trust may be the biggest buzzword in security. It’s becoming increasingly embraced across private and public organizations, and it was central to the cybersecurity Executive Order issued by the Biden administration in 2021. And Zero Trust encompasses a wide range of meanings, which may differ depending on who you ask.
At its core, Zero Trust is a security approach that assumes your network has already been compromised. Security ecosystems used to be simpler, and confined to a clear network perimeter. That’s no longer the case, as multi-cloud environments expand and user endpoints multiply at a rapid pace. Zero Trust aims to validate and authenticate users as they access data across your network — requiring that users confirm they are who they say they are.
Some people see Zero Trust as a bit of unfortunate branding for security leaders to implement. How can you foster employees’ trust when your security strategy assumes that you don’t trust them?
The idea behind Zero Trust is “never trust, always verify.” That applies to all traffic—users and systems—all the time. At Virtru, we believe in a Zero Trust framework because it’s a strong approach to cybersecurity, and it requires pairing data protection with strong, federated identity management.
Zero Trust treats every user and every system with equal caution. Everyone is on the same playing field. And just because your security framework requires authentication doesn’t mean that you, as an individual, don’t trust your colleagues.
You can trust your colleagues to do the right thing while also putting a safety net in place. When you ride as a passenger in a car, you wear your seatbelt—not because you don’t trust the driver, but because there are so many variables that could cause an accident. And you want to be safe if an accident occurs. With a Zero Trust foundation, you’re doing your employees a favor. You’re all on the same team, working to ensure your company’s most vital assets remain secure, and a Zero Trust framework enables just that.
Our Empowered Employee report includes 3 more trust-building tips for security leaders in a Zero Trust environment, plus dozens of other ideas for sparking employee engagement around security year-round. Download Virtru’s Empowered Employee report for more ideas and recommendations for building your Zero Trust security culture.
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