Heard about the tragic ransomware attack of 2021 at the Colonial Pipeline? A critical piece of American Infrastructure just became accessible due to a single compromised password. This incident exposed weaknesses of traditional security models like ‘ castle and moat’ . Due to internal breaches, firewalls and strong parameters have just become basics in today’s world.
At this point, the Zero Trust model intervenes to bring about a paradigm shift in cybersecurity by substituting a condition of continuous verification for implicit trust. Continuous authorization is necessary for all users and devices, regardless of their location, in order to access any resource.
Zero Trust lowers the possibility of theft by lessening the harm caused by successful breaches. Even with only one credential available to them, an attacker’s movement is tightly restricted, preventing lateral movement.
But implementing Zero Trust can be a task. That’s where Inspirit Vision’s Identity and Access Management as a Service (IAMaaS) steps in. Our comprehensive suite of solutions empowers organizations to seamlessly integrate Zero Trust principles into your existing security infrastructure.
We’ll explore the Zero Trust concept in greater detail throughout this blog and consider how Inspirit Vision’s IAMaaS can:
- Put Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) into Practice: By adding a supplementary verification factor requirement to each login attempt, you may further strengthen security beyond passwords.
- Put Least Privilege Access into Practice: By granting users exactly the precise rights they require to carry out their duties, you can reduce the risk of compromised credentials.
- Turn on Continuous Monitoring: Keep a close eye on user activity and take note of any unusual activity that could point to a security breach.
- Simplify Zero Trust Deployment: Organizations of all sizes may now adopt Zero Trust thanks to our user-friendly IAMaaS platform, which makes the deployment process more efficient.
What is the Zero Trust Model?
Here, we are building an ecosystem in which trust is constantly earned rather than granted. That’s what the Zero Trust model is all about. We just adopt the motto, “Never trust, always verify.” This implies that prior to granting access, each person and device—whether they are inside or outside the network perimeter—must undergo ongoing authentication and authorization.
This strategy is based on essential principles like:
- Least Privilege Access: This notion makes sure that users only have the minimal amount of access necessary to do their responsibilities. Consider a Tellers have access to the bank’s core banking system, allowing them to process customer transactions such as deposits, withdrawals, and account inquiries. Tellers do not have access to sensitive customer information beyond what is required for their daily tasks, such as account balances and transaction histories.The damage caused by a malicious actor gaining access to a single account is reduced by least privilege.
- Segregation of Duties (SoD): Segregation of duties is enforced to prevent conflicts of interest and reduce the risk of fraud or misuse of privileges. For example, employees responsible for approving transactions should not also have the ability to initiate or authorize the same transactions, ensuring checks and balances in the system
- Continuous Verification: Access to Zero Trust is not granted with a single login. One popular example is multi-factor authentication (MFA), which requires a code, from your phone as a supplementary verification element in addition to your username and password. This ongoing verification makes sure that security measures are difficult for unauthorized people to get around.
- Assume Breach Mentality: Zero Trust bases its operations on the presumption that there has been or will soon be a breach. Even in the event that an attacker manages to get an entrance point, this proactive strategy guarantees that security safeguards are in place to reduce the harm.
Why Zero Trust Matters Now
The field of cybersecurity is always advancing. A new security paradigm is required due to the increasing popularity of cloud computing, the growth of remote workforces, and the sophistication of cyberattacks. The following is how Zero Trust tackles these modern threats:
- Remote Work: The old castle-and-moat strategy is rendered outdated as more workers operate beyond the typical workplace boundaries. Zero Trust guarantees safe access wherever it is, safeguarding private information even on personal devices.
- Supply Chain Attacks: In an effort to penetrate a company’s network, cybercriminals are increasingly focusing on independent providers. Even if an attacker manages to breach a single vendor account, Zero Trust’s emphasis on least privilege and continuous verification makes it more difficult for them to progress laterally inside a network.
- Insider Threat Mitigation: Insider threats, whether intentional or unintentional, pose a significant risk to organizations. Zero Trust assumes that no user or device should be implicitly trusted and implements controls to verify and authenticate every access attempt. By adopting a Zero Trust approach, organizations can mitigate the risk of insider threats by enforcing strict access controls, monitoring user activity, and implementing behavioral analytics to detect suspicious behavior.
- Cloud Adoption: Although cloud computing has many advantages, there are new security risks as well. Applying zero trust concepts to cloud environments helps guarantee safe access to data and resources hosted on the cloud.
How Inspirit Vision’s IAMaaS Supports Zero Trust
A glimpse into some of Inspirit Vision’s IAMaaS key features and how they directly support Zero Trust:
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Strong authentication that goes beyond usernames and passwords must be provided by Zero Trust. Strong multi-factor authentication (MFA) features are offered by Inspirit Vision’s IAMaaS, which requires users to enter a second verification factor—like a code from their phone or a fingerprint scan—when attempting to log in. As a result, there is an additional layer of security and it is far more difficult for attackers to pose as authorized users.
- Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): One of the main foundations of Zero Trust is the least privilege concept. RBAC is implemented by Inspirit Vision’s IAMaaS, enabling administrators to create fine-grained access controls. To guarantee that users only have access to the resources they require to do their duties, roles with certain permissions are allocated to them. In the event that an attacker manages to access a single account, this reduces the possible harm.
- User Activity Monitoring (UAM): Another essential component of Zero Trust is ongoing verification. IAMaaS from Inspirit Vision offers extensive UAM capabilities that monitor user behavior throughout the network. Any odd activity can be reported for further examination, such as attempts to log in from strange places or use resources that are not authorized. This enables businesses to quickly identify and address possible security issues.
- Conditional Access Control (CAC) : Zero Trust considers context. With the CAC features provided by Inspirit Vision’s IAMaaS, businesses may establish access restrictions according to a number of variables, including the user’s location, the type of device, and the time of day. To increase security even further, access might be limited to particular devices or locations.
- Integration with Security Tools: Inspirit Vision’s IAMaaS integrate with other security tools and technologies, such as endpoint security, network security, and threat intelligence platforms. This integration enables organizations to correlate identity-related data with information from other security controls, facilitating more comprehensive threat detection and response capabilities within the Zero Trust framework.
Real-World Example: Transforming Security with Inspirit Vision’s IAMaaS
Let’s think about an actual situation. Consider a healthcare organization that finds it difficult to implement conventional security procedures. A persistent worry was data breaches, and adhering to HIPAA rules was difficult. Through the use of Inspirit Vision’s IAMaaS, they were capable :
- To drastically lower the chance of unwanted access, implement multi-factor authentication for every user login.
- To Reduce the attack surface by implementing RBAC to guarantee that physicians only had access to the medical records of their patients.
- To use UAM to keep an eye on user activity and spot any unusual activity that might point to a breach.
- To provide comprehensive visibility into proactive threat detection and response with SIEM (Security information and event management) systems integration.
What was the outcome? By achieving a Zero Trust posture, the healthcare company greatly enhanced their entire security posture and guaranteed the privacy of patient data.
Conclusion
In today’s ever-evolving threat landscape, robust identity security is no longer optional. The Zero Trust model offers a proactive approach that minimizes the impact of cyberattacks. Inspirit Vision’s IAMaaS provides the tools and features organizations need to implement Zero Trust principles effectively.
