Zero Trust has rapidly gained popularity in the cybersecurity industry in recent years. According to the fourth annual State of Zero Trust report from Okta, published last summer, 97% of survey respondents either had a Zero Trust initiative in place or planned to implement one within the next few months. This represents a significant increase from the 16% reported in the first edition of the report. However, despite this widespread adoption, the true implementation of Zero Trust may still be a challenge.
Zero Trust is a concept that emphasizes continuous, granular authentication and data- and asset-centric security rather than relying on traditional network-centric approaches. While the fundamental principle of Zero Trust is simple to describe, its implementation can be complex. Many organizations have well-established security practices that are deeply embedded and difficult to change. It may require significant effort and communication to transition users to this new culture of security.
Despite the challenges, the implementation of Zero Trust is worth the effort. The traditional security perimeter model is becoming less effective against the evolving cyber threats. Malicious actors are increasingly skilled at moving laterally within breached networks, and security teams can only do so much to mitigate the damage. Additionally, the boundaries between insiders and outsiders are blurring due to changing work patterns and the need for interconnected systems. In this context, a Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) that treats the user, asset, or data as the perimeter becomes essential.
To ensure the success of Zero Trust initiatives, organizations should rely on robust, open, tested, vendor-neutral definitions of the methodology. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) offers widely used definitions in their 800-207 publication. The Open Group has also published a guide called the Zero Trust Commandments, which outlines essential elements of a successful Zero Trust strategy. Furthermore, The Open Group is developing its own standard ZTA framework to establish a shared understanding among businesses, vendors, government, and academia on how different elements of ZTA should interact for effective security.
The rapid and widespread adoption of Zero Trust is a positive development in response to increasing digital security breaches. However, it is crucial to properly define and understand Zero Trust to ensure its successful implementation. With a proper understanding of Zero Trust and the use of standardized methodologies, organizations can better protect their systems and data from evolving cyber threats.
About the Author:
John Linford is the Forum Director of The Open Group Security Forum and Open Trusted Technology Forum. In his role at The Open Group, he supports the leaders and participants of the Open Trusted Technology Forum in utilizing the resources of The Open Group to facilitate collaboration and follow The Open Group Standards process to publish their deliverables. He has prior experience as a Lecturer for San Jose State University, where he taught courses in Economics.
John is also Open FAIR™ certified and was the lead author of the Open FAIR Risk Analysis Process Guide (G180). This guide offers best practices for performing an Open FAIR risk analysis, providing risk analysts with a clear methodology to apply. John’s expertise in risk analysis adds valuable insights to the field of cybersecurity and contributes to the development of robust security frameworks.