Introduction

In the previous article, we defined the key concepts revolving around the Zero Trust methodology. We came to the conclusion that 60 per cent of organisations will adopt Zero Trust as their security baseline by 2025 (Forbes analysis).
Let us start with this fact: awareness of the imminent threat of a data breach is growing, prompting us to take proactive measures to protect our sensitive data and minimise its effect.

The Zero Trust range

Zero Trust methodology should be applied to the entire business ecosystem for it to be truly effective. The ecosystem consists of: people, devices, networks, applications and data.
Let us analyse the measures to be put in place on the different parts that make up the ecosystem. On the people side, we mainly talk about Multi Factor Authentication, Role Base Authentication, Single Sign On, Identity Access Management; on the device side, protection is provided by more or less advanced Antivirus or Patching systems.
As far as the network is concerned, there are various measures implemented at IT level, including segmentation to limit the spread of any attack, so that compromised access to a segment does not compromise the entire network. Another possible activity in addition to segmentation and other isolation measures is encryption, whereby data is transformed into an unreadable form using an algorithm and a key to guarantee the confidentiality and security of information during its transmission through the network. At the application level, security is guaranteed by Sandboxing to have an isolated and controlled environment in which to execute processes; Firewalling to monitor network traffic, deciding whether to allow or block communication between the protected system and the rest of the network or the Internet; Code Analysis and other systems.
The data area, on which Syneto focuses in particular, is the heart of the ecosystem, and it is worth exploring the topics of Data Resiliency, Data Security and finally Data Protection.

Data Management: data is our heart

Data needs to be available at all times and for this we have Full Tolerance, Redundancy and Disaster Recovery. In addition to being available it must also be protected (Data Protection) and so we talk about privacy, data integrity and availability. Finally, for the Data Security part, the activities concern monitoring access, preventing the destructive effect of a ransomware attack, for example with detection or encryption tools.
A single data management interface such as Syneto’s makes it possible to guarantee a Zero Trust approach: infrastructure restoration in a certain time with continuous access monitoring.

Beyond Zero Trust development

Going beyond the simple zero-trust means not limiting oneself to the philosophy of ‘never trust, always verify’ but ensuring that every activity is verified following a dynamic, proactive and adaptive model.
– To reduce the risk of intrusion, unauthorised access and malicious acts must be constantly intercepted and deterred.
– Safeguarding data means making it impermeable, isolating it from the rest.
– Detecting suspicious behaviour is possible thanks to AI that constantly monitors network actions, instantly detecting anomalous patterns, potential threats and offering valuable insights to keep the ecosystem protected.
– Containing the damage of a cyber incident is possible if at the first sign of a security breach, rapid containment measures are put in place to stop the proliferation of threats to other elements of the ecosystem.

Conclusions

To guarantee a comprehensive defence, it is essential to extend security practices beyond traditional boundaries. From implementing security measures for people and devices, to advanced network protection through segmentation and encryption, to sophisticated application security techniques such as sandboxing and firewalling, every component of the business ecosystem plays a crucial role in building a robust defence barrier.
In a world where cyber threats are increasingly sophisticated, embracing the Beyond Zero Trust evolution becomes imperative to secure organisations and protect sensitive data.