Top Five Benefits of Moving to Zero Trust

December 3, 2024

Can you afford not to move to Zero Trust?

The latest headlines from Cybercrime Magazine “Global Ransomware Damage Costs Predicted To Exceed $265 Billion By 2031. The fastest growing type of cybercrime is expected to attack a business, consumer, or device every 2 seconds by 2031.” Not a day goes by without a top story on another cyberattack. Thus, Zero Trust is becoming necessary to stay one step ahead of an attack or limit the damage if an attack occurs. 

What is Zero Trust?

Per Gartner, “Zero Trust is a security paradigm that explicitly identifies users and grants them just the right amount of access so that the business can operate with minimal friction while risks are reduced.” This doesn’t mean you should trust no one; instead, you should only grant the “right” trust, allowing the right users to access the right data at the right time under the right conditions. 

The Zero Trust framework states that:

• A network is always at risk from outside and inside threats
• Every user should be verified every time
• Users should only have as much access as they need

Implementing Zero Trust requires taking a step back by starting with zero access and then granting access based on role. It also implies regular reviews as employees change positions to re-examine their access. Three core elements in establishing Zero Trust include setting the right trust, assuming compromise, and using identity and context.

What are the benefits of implementing?

Five benefits your organization can realize by moving toward Zero Trust:

• Increased resilience: Builds an environment that can sustain an error or a security issue without leading to a more severe breach causing enterprise-wide issues.
• Enablement: Allows new and different approaches to support business outcomes without adding risk.
• Supports regulatory compliance: Helps ensure you meet regulatory standards and may reduce your cybersecurity insurance costs.
• Treats all threats the same: With the change to a hybrid or remote workforce, your data may not be as secure as when all your employees were in the office. Internal threats are usually harder to detect and can be more damaging than external threats.
• Secures cloud adoption: Enables the classification of all assets on the cloud so that you can establish the proper protections and access controls.

How do I get started?

For most organizations implementing Zero Trust is not an overnight process but a journey. You can start with your current cybersecurity roadmap and implement elements to achieve Zero Trust. The National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence has several articles to help you achieve Zero Trust. In addition, Dewpoint has security professionals to help you pilot Zero Trust without sacrificing the user experience or your employee’s productivity. Reach out to us for a free cybersecurity assessment or more information on Zero Trust to ensure your organization is cyber-secure.