Zero Trust Access (ZTA)

breach-cost Remote work has had a direct impact on the cost of data breaches. Case in point: organizations without a zero trust security model in place spend an average of $1 million more on data breach costs than those with zero trust deployed.¹Additionally, 74% of businesses have experienced a breach tracing back to a remote device.² If companies intend to avoid the costly risks created by remote work, they must take extra precautions to secure their work-from-anywhere employees.

That’s where zero trust comes in. From private corporations to the U.S. federal government, zero trust is quickly becoming the gold standard for secure remote network access. And it’s no wonder why: the average cost of a breach is $1.76 million lower for companies with a mature zero trust framework in place.¹

Zero trust secures modern work environments with powerful authentication methods, network segmentation, least access policies, and more, allowing businesses to support remote workers without compromising the corporate network. Let’s explore why business leaders are turning to zero trust as the cybersecurity solution that surpasses all others.

Ransomware - Hackers gain access to a system, lock the owners out, and demand payment to restore access. This type of cyber attack is on the rise, with 66% of healthcare organizations suffering a ransomware breach in 2021.³

Credential Stuffing - Login information for one account is used to access other accounts within an organization. With 52% of people using the same password for multiple accounts,⁴ it’s no wonder why this type of attack has increased.

Social Engineering - Threat actors trick people into giving login credentials or personal information. This type of attack is often how hackers gain initial access, with organizations facing 700+ social engineering attacks each year.⁵

Evolving Cyber Threats: Cyber criminals are deploying increasingly sophisticated attacks, targeting internet of things (IoT) devices, diving into web-based technologies, and finding new ways to sell their services.

Expanding Attack Surface: Cloud-based services and distributed workforces are widening the corporate network attack surface rapidly, which is expected to continue expanding as organizations invest in various IoT devices.

Security Awareness: Company-wide security awareness training programs and ongoing education have risen in popularity as a means for empowering employees to identify and prevent attacks.

Zero Trust Architecture: The zero trust framework is quickly becoming the standard for cybersecurity as the only solution that allows distributed systems with multiple access points to be secured seamlessly.

Zero Trust Strengthens Remote Work Security

The increased use of home WiFi networks and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies expose corporate networks to countless more unsecured endpoints that legacy cybersecurity solutions are unable to protect. Zero trust boosts remote work security by preventing all network traffic requests until users are verified by identity attributes, eliminating the need for traditional endpoint protection.

Zero Trust Defends Against Sophisticated Cyber Attacks

Hackers are now using artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and other advanced technologies to launch increasingly sophisticated attacks, so stricter security measures are needed to defend against these rapidly evolving threats. Zero trust defends against increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks by enforcing network access based on the identity attributes of each requesting user and releasing only the resources necessary to fulfill the request.

Zero Trust Safeguards Cloud Applications

Businesses have very little control over the security of third-party cloud applications their day-to-day operations depend on. Zero trust categorizes cloud-based assets so that security and access policies can be aligned across your entire network – no matter where your cloud applications are located.

Businesses can grant access to a user based on their role (employee versus guest, for example) and the policy-based rights granted to that role.

Endpoint management control and visibility is essential in today's business environment. Connected devices don't just include smartphones and laptops that require usernames and passwords for identity verification. Businesses may have printers, door access systems, and other "headless" IoT devices that should only be granted sufficient access to perform a specific function - without creating an additional layer of vulnerability on the network as a result of unnecessary permissions. ZTA ensures these devices are granted role-based access in a similar way that it's granted to human users.

ZTNA is the technology that makes implementing a zero trust security model possible. Based on the principle of “never trust, always verify,” ZTNA controls access at the application and data level, protecting corporate networks from threats with more flexibility and efficiency than legacy security solutions.

Those exploring ZTNA may also encounter the term "least privilege access." Least privilege access isolates infected applications and data without disrupting other parts of the network, making it an important part of the ZTNA ecosystem. While ZTNA eliminates threats, least privilege access minimizes and mitigates damage, working together to strengthen an organization’s zero trust security strategy.

ZTNA is a key component of Safous’ ZTA platform. Learn more about ZTNA features here.

ZTNA requires continuous identity authentication, forcing each device, application, and user to pass an authentication test every time they request access and preventing hackers from gaining network access based on implicit trust.

ZTNA minimizes the network attack surface by communicating with a single access point for each request. No other endpoints are open, reducing exposure to unauthorized access.

ZTNA reduces damage in the event of a breach, releasing only as much access needed to fulfill each request and requiring additional authentication to move throughout the rest of the network.

ZTNA provides scalable security that goes beyond traditional network perimeters to encompass the entire workforce – no matter where remote employees are connecting to the network from.

ZTNA centralizes security management, allowing IT administrators to control security and remote access policies company-wide from a central location for painless policy deployment and consistent enforcement.

Zero trust makes network access difficult and hinders productivity. The truth is, when implemented correctly, ZTNA delivers a user-friendly experience that allows your remote employees to quickly access the network resources they need to get their jobs done.

Zero trust only protects on-premise workforces. This couldn’t be further from the truth, as ZTNA tools provide secure network access to employees regardless of location.

Zero trust is a product. Actually, zero trust is the concept behind advanced cybersecurity products like ZTNA, which allow organizations to reap the benefits of zero trust security.

Zero trust creates a culture of mistrust. While implementing zero trust tools does require a certain amount of scrutiny by employers, ZTNA should be treated as the key card for access to the digital workplace and not as a tool meant to restrict employees.

IT leaders need a more efficient solution for preventing browser-based attacks. That’s where browser isolation comes in.

Browser isolation technology performs browsing activity outside of the user’s environment, protecting employee devices – and the company network – from threats originating within the browser. There are a few types of browser isolation technologies, but the first choice for most business leaders is remote browser isolation (RBI).

RBI covers all aspects of employee security while browsing by running web-based applications and JavaScript on a cloud server isolated from company network resources. Some benefits of RBI include:

Because web browsers are necessary for operations, RBI has become an important component of ZTNA solutions. While ZTNA prevents cyber attacks directed at the access level, RBI prevents those directed at the browser. Together, these technologies enable businesses to tackle cybersecurity threats on all fronts.

Safous ZTA includes RBI to ensure your network stays protected from threats – even those on the web. Learn more about RBI features here.

An estimated 60% of enterprises will replace their VPNs with ZTNA by 2023,⁷and for good reason. VPNs have long been the go-to for enterprise cybersecurity, but cyber attacks targeting VPN vulnerabilities are growing as workforces become more dispersed.

VPNs establish a secure connection for employees over a shared network, allowing access based on implicit trust. Unfortunately, cyber criminals can easily spoof variables like device and location, tricking VPNs into allowing them network access whenever they choose.

With a VPN, connections are made at the network level, so it’s relatively easy for hackers to spread malware and other cyber threats from any connected device. ZTNA manages access at the application level, preventing the spread of malware by shutting down access to other parts of the network.

ZTNA also allows for a faster network connection than VPNs. VPNs route all traffic through the company’s network – even cloud-based applications. If too many employees use the VPN simultaneously, traffic jams can cause the connection to become slow and laggy. ZTNAs allow access to resources in the cloud directly once an employee is authenticated, reducing jams and boosting performance.

Proposed by Gartner in 2019, SASE has also been gaining popularity as a security solution for protecting remote and cloud-based work environments. SASE combines network and security services, enabling businesses to increase security without slowing employee productivity or placing an additional burden on IT teams.

Most SASE solutions are made up of multiple security tools in addition to software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN), including:

Secure web gateway (SWG)
Cloud access security broker (CASB)
Firewalls
ZTNA

There isn’t a comprehensive SASE solution currently available that provides all of these features, and not all SASE products include ZTNA functionality. Businesses implementing SASE must invest considerable time and resources into replacing their network infrastructure and may still have to secure a ZTNA solution to get complete protection for their remote workforce.

Outdated, hardware-based security systems worked when companies operated on-premises, but as the workforce expands beyond the walls of traditional offices, these solutions are no longer effective.

Employees are using personal devices and potentially unsecured public and home networks to access the corporate network, widening the attack surface. Legacy security tools were designed to cover traditional network perimeters, but now there are countless endpoints for cyber criminals to exploit that outdated solutions simply can’t protect.

In contrast, ZTNA reduces the attack surface, hiding network resources until access is granted. Verified users then gain access to limited resources based on their needs, while ZTNA re-evaluates access in real time.

The terms ZTNA and software-defined perimeter (SDP) are sometimes used interchangeably; however, SDP is a software-based solution used to enforce zero trust privilege and restrict network access. Cybersecurity solutions built on hardware can’t reap the benefits of SDP, preventing them from fully protecting hybrid and remote workforces.

Secure Modernization - Zero trust paves the way for secure digital transformation by safeguarding devices and applications without requiring architectural changes or policy updates. This allows companies to optimize their cloud usage and develop more effective ways to expand their digital resources.

Minimized Risks - Zero trust minimizes risk by categorizing all assets on the network and identifying how they communicate, in addition to constantly assessing the “credentials” of each asset communicating within the network.

Control Cloud Access - Zero trust applies access policies based on workload identities, keeping resources secured and unaltered by changing network components like ports, IP addresses, and protocols.

Maintain Compliance - Zero trust helps businesses achieve and maintain compliance with certain regulatory privacy standards, including PCI DSS and NIST 800-207.

Reduced Data Breaches - Zero trust continually reassesses trust, even if the location, device, or accessed data changes. Additionally, this model divides the corporate network into segments to prevent lateral movement.

Zero trust and ZTNA solutions have been gaining popularity as the most effective option for tackling cyber attacks – especially those targeting remote and hybrid workforces. As cyber threats get more sophisticated, the need for remote network access control that outsmarts hackers will only continue to grow.

At Safous, we believe in the power of zero trust for securing modern workforces. That’s why we help businesses like yours deliver fast, secure access to company resources with our advanced ZTNA solution. Safous ZTNA is easy to install, provides a high level of control, and lets your employees safely connect to the applications and data they need to work from anywhere.

If you’re ready to get started with zero trust, we have you covered. Request a free demo today to see how Safous ZTNA safeguards your network, supports your remote workforce, and strengthens your zero trust security posture.