It is an open door: there is a record shortage on the labour market, and a shortage of cyber security specialists in particular. “For many employers, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack,” says Geert Bussé, Head of NGS Presales EMEA at Westcon-Comstor. “Meanwhile, the dangers are not diminishing. Hackers are getting increasingly creative.”
Moreover, the situation today looks completely different compared to roughly two years ago. “For years, putting up walls to protect your critical business infrastructure was sufficient. But times have changed. Working remotely, for example, was a game changer: employees suddenly had to gain access to systems and databases from home. This created new vulnerabilities and attack points.”
A more efficient security model
Consequently, a new security model needs to be put in place. “The Zero Trust security model is a direct result of the demise of the network perimeter and is based on the principle of 'never trust, always verify'. This means access is only granted according to the minimum privileges that someone needs to exercise their job. It therefore no longer makes sense to build one shield, since applications are scattered anyway. Zero Trust is based on dynamic and granular access control of users, systems, and applications wherever they may be, independent of the underlying network infrastructure.”
Rolling out such a new architecture does not happen overnight. “For companies, it means that they have to completely rethink their security mechanisms, while observing a number of basic principles. Everything starts with the identification of the user and the device that they connect with. In addition, the context must be taken into consideration and the role of each user must be clearly defined. And finally, the risk profile of each user must be mapped out.”
Nothing but benefits
With all these efforts, companies can significantly reduce their exposure to attacks. This benefits not only the company itself, but also its customers. “After all, they connect to a more secure organisation, which reduces the risk of malware infections or data loss for themselves as well,” continues Geert Bussé. “The Zero Trust principles should be integrated in every digital transformation process. It may not look that simple at first sight. But by opting for solutions that have been developed based on the Zero Trust concept and by sharing our experiences with this model, we can speed up the entire process.”