Does your Business have (Zero) Trust issues? 

With cyber threats on UK businesses becoming more common and sophisticated, more than tripling in 2023 (from 2.39 million in 2022, to more than 7.78 million in 2023), businesses need to ensure that they have a comprehensive approach to protect their digital assets.  

The Zero Trust framework is an essential part of a comprehensive business cyber security strategy. It's not just a technical concept; it's a practical strategy that can help safeguard your business from these growing and evolving threats. 

What is the Zero Trust Framework?
The Zero Trust framework is a security model built on a simple principle: "never trust, always verify." 

Traditional cyber security practices assumed that everything that you have inside your business network is "safe.” However, Zero Trust challenges this idea by recognising that threats could come from within your business just as easily as from outside, whether intentionally or not. 

This means that no one and nothing, whether an employee, device, or system, is trusted by default. Every time a person or device attempts to access your business’s data or systems, they must be able to authenticate they are who they say they are. But how? 

Key Elements of Zero Trust
The Zero Trust framework relies on a few key ideas and processes to protect your business and its data: 

Identity Verification
Every user and device that can connect to your business infrastructure, whether that be cloud based or on-premises, remote or on site, must be authenticated before they can access anything. This means the use of an active directory of users, such as through Microsoft Entra, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), and even Single Sign On (SSO) where users need more than just a password to log in. 

Principle of Least Privileges Access
Employees are only able to access the data and systems they need to do their job. This reduces the risk of sensitive information being accessed if a breach occurs, as attackers can't easily move around the network, and similarly, it prevents malicious actors from within the business from stealing data they do not have authorised access to. 

Network Segmentation
As recently covered in our article about IP addresses, where we covered how business IP addresses can be segmented into “sub-nets,” Zero Trust breaks your network into networks for specific devices or departments, restricting access to only the areas of the network those devices need to access. Similarly, guest or employee personal devices cannot access business network resources, instead being redirected directly to the internet. If a device on one section of the network is compromised, it doesn’t mean the entire network is at risk.

Continuous Monitoring
Zero Trust doesn’t stop after a user is authenticated. It continuously monitors activity, looking for any signs of suspicious behaviour. Tools such as Application & Device Ringfencing, as well as Endpoint Detection and Response, can monitor for unusual, suspicious, or malicious behaviour, so that they can be stopped in their tracks. Similarly, SEIM, paired with our own Cyber Security Operations Centre, manned by our own cyber security professionals, is able to actively hunt out potential threats on your system. 

Data Encryption
This one is simple, all data is encrypted, whether it’s stored on a server, in the cloud, or being sent over the internet. This ensures that even if data is intercepted in transit, it can't be read without the right decryption key. 

Why Zero Trust is Important for Your Business 

As cyber threats continue to grow, traditional security models that only rely on anti-virus or a strong defensive perimeter around your network are no longer enough, and the Zero Trust model ensures that you have the processes and solutions in place to protect your business and its data. 

Adapting to Expanding Threats
With more businesses embracing hybrid working, with employees working remotely and using cloud-based services, the potential entry points for cyber attacks have continued to expand. Zero Trust ensures that you are securing every access point, no matter where it is.  

Insider Threats
It is essential to remember that not all threats come from outside your company. Employees are your weakest link and can, either intentionally or accidentally, become the security risk that jeopardises your business data. Zero Trust minimises these risks by ensuring that your business knows who can access what, and where. 

Limiting Damage from Breaches
Much in a comparable way, Zero Trust can help contain the damage if your network is breached by cyber criminals. By restricting access through the Policy of Least Privileged Access, ensuring that your employees only have the permissions and access rights to perform their roles, as well as segmenting your business network, attackers find it harder to move through your systems. 

Regulatory Requirements
Many industries have strict data protection rules and must meet a minimum level of data protection to comply with regulations such as GDPR or additional protection and control rules to meet Cyber Essentials, Cyber Essentials Plus, and ISO 27001. Zero Trust helps you comply by keeping tight controls on who can access sensitive information. 

How can TwentyFour help your business adopt the Zero Trust framework?
Zero Trust is more than just a “buzz word,” It is at the heart of our comprehensive Cyber Security strategy. We understand that by adopting a Zero Trust approach to business cyber security, you will require the necessary processes and solutions to stay compliant with industry cyber security standards.  

Since 2023, we now require that all partners adhere to our minimum cyber defence level, which follows the Zero Trust Framework, ensuring that businesses throughout the UK remain protected from evolving and growing cyber threats that they face every day. 

To find out more about the Zero Trust framework and how your business can stay protected from the more than 500,000 new threats discovered daily, fill out the form below to get in touch.