Page 46 - Cyber Defense eMagazine Special RSA Conference Annual Edition for 2022

trusted zone where they can move laterally into the network. In these traditional security environments,
the network perimeter is the primary mechanism for enforcing access. Its focus on maximum
interoperability means that the default posture is to connect to everything, without asking what or why
users and systems really should be connecting to or how we should be controlling access to minimize
risk and data breaches.

Zero trust security and architecture is designed to address these questions, building security on a default
foundation where no user or system should be allowed access to a resource until a certain level of trust
has been established. In a zero trust environment, every connection and all access are explicitly defined,
authorized, and constrained with each connection attempt. When a service (such as a system,
application, container, etc.) needs to connect with another service, that connection must use a valid
authentication method, pass some level of authorization, and be constrained and/or controlled to a strict
“need to know” basis for access. Hence, a default posture of “zero trust” until you prove to be trusted. But
even then, it’s only for that specific instance.

Zero Trust in the Real World

As an approach and architectural concept, zero trust is relatively simple. But as a practical, best practice
to architect and deploy, zero trust can be difficult. This is mostly because today’s existing, legacy security
environments are not designed, built, and deployed around zero trust principles.

Especially in today’s DevOps-driven cloud environments, development teams often build application and
service environments in “full trust” mode with little-to-no access restrictions or security controls. Only after
the application and cloud environment are built do security and DevOps teams work to implement security
controls and access restrictions on the production environment. In essence, the environment begins in a
vulnerable state. And, as the complexity of the cloud environment grows, the complexity of the security
controls and enforcement grows along with it. If certain controls or configurations are missed or
inaccurate, then the environment can be left vulnerable. According to Verizon’s 2022 Data Breach
Investigations Report, misconfiguration errors scored as the highest source of data breaches.

In contrast, if a zero trust architecture and approach were deployed and enforced by default, the
environment would be inherently secure, with no user or system having access. Not only would the
granting of access be a required and overt act, but the number of services also needing access and the
scope of the access would be finite and on a need-to-know basis. So, once you grant a system or user
the appropriate access — while automating the application of those rights — you’re done. And, since this
approach is deployed and enforced automatically and by default, the inherent security of the environment
grows more seamlessly and at the same rate as the environment itself (and its complexity).

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