What Is a Zero Trust System?

Zero Trust is a cybersecurity approach that assumes all users, devices and connections may represent a threat. As a result, a Zero Trust system requires authentication on every request from inside or outside a network.

Zero Trust security is a shift away from security architecture where users and devices within the network were considered “safe”. In this traditional model for network security, threat actors who have successfully bypassed network defenses can move quickly throughout the network to access high-value targets.

Zero Trust systems prevent this attack through continuous authentication, ensuring that users and devices have access only to the IT resources they need at any time. Organizations can prevent breaches more effectively with a Zero Trust platform while helping security teams mitigate increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

Before the rise of Zero Trust systems, organizations operated with a “trust but verify” approach to network security. Security efforts focused on firewalls and other defenses to stop threats at the network perimeter. Users and endpoints already within the perimeter – or connected through secure remote methods – were considered trustworthy and could easily access broad classes of IT resources on the same network segment. To put it simply, everything inside the network was trusted by default.

While this “moat-and-castle approach” was never truly secure, it has become obsolete as the network perimeter has disappeared. With the rise of cloud computing, IT assets are no longer collected within a central data center or physical corporate network – data, applications and infrastructure may reside virtually anywhere in the world. At the same time, remote workers and hybrid workplaces have become the norm. Users must connect to data and applications from various locations, often on unsecured connections. The enterprise attack surface has expanded dramatically.

With a traditional approach to security – where users and devices inside the network are implicitly trusted – any attacker who has successfully gained access to the network can move unchecked throughout the system to access data, steal money or cause damage.

In a Zero Trust system, constant authentication severely limits the movement of attackers. Continuous monitoring and threat detection prevent attackers from dwelling within systems for extended periods.
 

A Zero Trust system is built on several core practices.

Continuous authentication
“Never trust, always verify” is the mantra of security teams in a Zero Trust environment. No user, device or network zone is ever trusted by default. To practice Zero Trust without adversely impacting users, Zero Trust systems reduce risk by limiting access based on criteria like user identity, location, device and the data sources and workloads they seek to use. 

Constant monitoring for breaches
IT teams in a Zero Trust system assume that threats are present and breaches have occurred. This practice gives teams a head start in locating and remediating attacks, ultimately minimizing the damage of successful breaches.

Minimum privileges
Users, processes and devices are always given the minimum level of privileges needed to perform a specific task or function. By preventing anyone and anything from having broad access to a network and the resources on it, a Zero Trust system minimizes vulnerabilities and access to sensitive data.

A limited attack surface
Security teams use microsegmentation and access control to severely limit the size of the attack surface. By creating smaller network segments and security parameters around individual workloads and sensitive assets, security teams can prevent attackers from moving laterally through a network after gaining access to one area or endpoint.
 

Organizations and security teams must rely on a collection of Zero Trust security products when Implementing a Zero Trust environment.

Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)
ZTNA solutions apply Zero Trust principles to remote connections, enabling workers to connect to data and applications from anywhere. With ZTNA, users inside the network have no more trust than those joining from outside the network.

Microsegmentation
Microsegmentation solutions simplify the task of identifying sensitive information, applications and workloads and narrowly restricting access to these assets.

Identity and access management
Tools for identity and access control are essential for validating users as they attempt to connect to the network. Role and attribute-based access controls help to effectively apply Zero Trust policies while multi-factor authentication technologies help prevent unauthorized access to IT assets.

Endpoint verification
Endpoint security validates user-controlled and autonomous devices as they connect to the network.

Automation and orchestration
A Zero Trust environment relies heavily on automation and orchestration technologies to minimize human error, increase efficiency, enforce policies consistently and scale Zero Trust technologies as needed.

Monitoring
Zero Trust solutions for visibility and analytics into security processes deliver crucial insights into users’ behavior and systems’ health. Continuous monitoring improves threat detection and helps security teams make more informed decisions in a constantly evolving threat landscape.

Forcepoint is a leading provider of user and data security solutions that safeguard organizations while driving digital transformation and growth. As a Zero Trust vendor, we offer solutions for essential Zero Trust capabilities. 

Block threats in incoming documents and files
Forcepoint Zero Trust CDR (Content Disarm & Reconstruction) supports a Zero Trust system by automatically blocking malware, zero-day attacks and other known and unknown threats contained within files. Instead of relying on malware detection technologies to identify hazards, this Forcepoint solution assumes that every file includes a threat. When users receive or request access to a document, email, image or file, Zero Trust CDR extracts the information within it, verifies that it is well-structured and builds an entirely new and functional file with the same data – leaving any threats behind.

Prevent data loss and leaks
Forcepoint DLP (Data Loss Prevention) supports Zero Trust data security by preventing unauthorized access to data in the cloud and on-premises. In addition to helping security teams discover, classify and monitor data, Forcepoint detects sensitive information flowing in and out of the network and uses security policy to prevent it from being exfiltrated or accidentally leaked.

Provide secure remote connections
Forcepoint Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) connects remote workers to apps in private data centers and private clouds while blocking malware and preventing data loss and leaks. Forcepoint ZTNA limits access for remote users to only the apps they need rather than allowing them to access all the apps in internal data centers. This Forcepoint solution also protects apps against potentially compromised remote devices and data theft through built-in malware-scanning and DLP technology that stops hackers and data breaches.

Remote Browser Isolation (RBI)
Zero Trust web browsing is a part of Forcepoint ONE and offers a seamless, native web browsing experience while allowing secure, hassle-free access to websites that teams need to successfully perform their jobs. This is powered by Remote Browser Isolation, a process that neutralizes malware through remote isolation without relying on detection.