Fighting Cybercrime with Zero Trust

Abstract

Zero Trust Architecture focuses on securing critical data and access paths by eliminating trust as much as possible by “assuming breach.” It establishes trust every time a user tries to access an asset in the system by questioning the premise that users, devices, and network components should be implicitly trusted based on their location within the network. We have chosen Zero Trust to help reduce the impact of cybercrime and establish baseline security practices. It is a dramatic paradigm shift in the philosophy of securing our infrastructure, networks, and data, from verifying once at the perimeter to continually verifying each user, device, application, and transaction. Trust in humans is essential to forming connections; however, trust in network connections can create dangers and potential security gaps in the digital world. In a hyper-connected world, anyone can launch an attack virtually and participate in cybercrime by violating the trust of systems or networks. The cost of not implementing good security practices is evident in the growing number of data breaches and ransomware attacks that erode consumers' trust in tech and online space. Considering Zero Trust and Zero Trust Architecture developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) should help reduce the impact of cybercrime and protect the crown jewels in cyberspace from a malicious insider or an external attacker.