The Pros and Cons Of Zero Trust Security

Posted by mctracy On December 22, 2021

Zero Trust Security is a security model where everyone in the system is “guilty until proven innocent.” It is designed to prevent insider threats. Every device and every person is monitored, checked, and verified prior to access. Zero Trust Security has become an increasingly popular form of cyber-security, but is it the best for your company?

Pro: Less Vulnerability

Zero Trust Securities provides a system where vulnerability to insider attacks decreases. Less vulnerability equals more security, which is always the goal. The “guilty until proven innocent” system prevents any suspicious activity from ever taking place on the system. “Once in place, the Zero trust model better secures the company, especially from in-network lateral threats that could manifest under a different security model.” (Infused Innovations).

Con: Management of Devices and Users

The number of devices and users to monitor and manage increases under this system, making the system harder to manage. Each user will have to be individually registered, with each department individually registered. It’s a lot. “Employee users need to be monitored more closely with access only granted as necessary. And users can go beyond employees. Customers, clients and third-party vendors may also use the company’s website or access data. This means there’s a wide variety of access points, and a Zero Trust framework requires specific policies for each type of group.” (Infused Innovations).

Pro: User Identification and Access

When individual accounts are secure, the entire network is more secure. “Implementing a zero trust security strategy is associated with deploying a solution for continuous monitoring and logging of asset states and user activity.” (Ekran). Having each individual account separately registered, it is easier to track and monitor employee activity on the system. “Using multi-factor authentication or even moving beyond passwords with biometrics is a good way to keep accounts well-guarded. Then, with the categorization of users, they can only be granted access to data and accounts as necessary for their particular job tasks.” (Infused Innovations).

Con: Time and Effort

It takes a substantial amount of time and effort to set up Zero Trust Security. Sometimes, it requires your company to start their framework completely over again. Zero trust securities “can’t be established with a single solution, organizations may struggle with properly configuring the tools they already use. For instance, not all applications provide means for deploying the principle of least privilege, which is the core of the zero trust philosophy.” (Ekran). If your company does not have the time to set up, consolidate, and maintain the system, Zero Trust may not be the best fit. “Reorganizing policies within an existing network can be difficult because it still needs to function during the transition. Often, it’s actually easier to build a new network from scratch and then switch over. If legacy systems are incompatible with the Zero Trust framework, starting from scratch will be necessary.” (Infused Innovations).

Pro: Increased Data Protection

Data is segmented so that it does not all show up in one place. This increases the protection of the data. Having data in separate places means it would be harder to hack into substantial masses of information. “In a Zero Trust model, you wouldn’t have one big pool of data that all users could access. Segmenting data according to type, sensitivity and use provides a more secure setup. This way, critical or sensitive data is protected potential attack surfaces are reduced.” (Infused Innovations).

Con: More Data to Secure

Segmenting the data also leads to more data to secure. Having your data in multiple places means multiple places to secure, which can be difficult. If your company has limited IT staff, this may be a headache. “These days there’s more than one location data is stored, which means there are more sites to protect. Data configuration needs to be done responsibly with the highest security standards.” (Infused Innovations).

Have any questions about cyber-security? Responsive Technology Partners is the leading cyber-security expert in the Athens, Metter, Milledgeville, Vidalia, and Atlanta, Georgia areas. We also have locations in Tampa, Florida, Roanoke, Virginia, and Raleigh South Carolina. Service offerings include I.T. support, cyber-security and compliance, telephony, cloud services, cabling, access control, and camera systems. Our company’s mission is to provide world-class customer service through industry leading I.T. solutions that make every customer feel as if they are our only customer. Please visit our website to learn more: https://www.responsivetechnologypartners.com/.