How to Adopt Zero Trust Security for Your SMB

With the cyber threat landscape getting more complicated with every passing minute, cybersecurity deserves more attention than ever before. You can no longer put all your faith and trust in applications, interfaces, networks, devices, traffic and users. Misjudging and misplacing your trust in a devious entity can lead to severe breaches that can damage your business. If your business were to adopt Zero Trust security practices, however, it can go a long way towards helping your small and medium-sized business (SMBs) to minimize cybersecurity risks and prevent data breaches.

Zero Trust was introduced in 2010 by John Kindervag, a former Forrester analyst. The concept has since gained wide acclaim and approval as a trusted framework for cybersecurity. The Zero Trust approach trusts nothing within or outside its perimeter and insists on verifying everything attempting to connect to the company systems before granting access. In simple terms, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) refers to it as a “never trust, always verify” approach.

Adopting Zero Trust Security within your business can help guard against data breaches, downtime, productivity loss, customer churn and reputation damage. Over 70% of businesses planned to adopt Zero Trust in 2020 and it is even more critical for SMBs in an era where work forces and networks are becoming heavily distributed.

Three Misconceptions and Facts About Adopting Zero Trust Security

Misconception: Zero Trust Security is only for enterprises. The Zero Trust cybersecurity framework is a proven counter threat strategy. While it’s true that enterprises prioritize protection of their data and networks by deploying the best solutions and approaches, SMBs must also protect sensitive data and networks by taking adequate measures to minimize internal and external vulnerabilities. Thus, Zero Trust Security isn’t just for enterprises. It is equally significant for SMBs as well.

Misconception: Zero Trust Security is too complex. By applying Zero Trust concepts at a scale that makes sense for your business, you will realize it isn’t as complex as you thought.

Misconception: The cost of implementing Zero Trust is too high. Zero Trust adoption is operationally and economically feasible if you focus on your most critical applications and data sets first.

Still Not Convinced?

Let’s look at a few statistics that should convince you of the seriousness of today’s cyber threat landscape as well as the need to adopt Zero Trust:

Human error causes close to 45% of data breaches. Unfortunately, you can’t completely mistrust an external network nor can you fully trust even a single user within your network.

Experts predict that ransomware attacks will occur every 8 seconds in 2021. This gives you no time to be complacent.

Over 40% of employees are expected to work from home post-pandemic. When this happens, many devices, users and resources will interact entirely outside the corporate perimeter. This increases the risk of an incident occurring.

Phishing attacks have increased by over 70% since the pandemic started. To counter such a scenario, cybersecurity policies must be dynamic and adapt to address additional concerns.

If you’re not equipped with a solid defense against cyber threats, you may regret it later when a breach happens. Chances are your current approach to cybersecurity falls short of stopping cyber criminals from accessing your network. The Zero Trust approach can change all that.

Adopting Zero Trust Security within your business does not mean you throw away your existing security tools and technologies. In fact, according to NIST, Zero Trust Security must incorporate existing security tools and technologies more systematically.

Build an effective Zero Trust model that encompasses governance policies—like giving users only the access needed to complete their tasks—and technologies such as:

1. Multifactor authentication
2. Identity and access management
3. Risk management
4. Analytics
5. Encryption
6. Orchestration
7. Scoring
8. File-system permissions

Zero Trust Is a Mindset, Not Just a Technology

Zero Trust security is built on a simple principle: trust should never be assumed. Every user, device, application, and connection should be verified before access is granted to business systems and sensitive information.

While the concept may sound complex, many Zero Trust principles are rooted in practical cybersecurity best practices. Strong authentication, multi-factor authentication, least-privilege access, device management, continuous monitoring, and regular risk assessments all contribute to a stronger security posture.

Organizations do not need to implement Zero Trust all at once. The most successful approaches are often incremental, focusing first on the areas that present the greatest risk. By strengthening foundational security controls and improving visibility into who has access to what, businesses can significantly reduce their exposure to cyber threats.

Zero Trust is ultimately about making smarter security decisions that protect your business without preventing employees from being productive.

Is Your Organization Ready for a Zero Trust Approach?

Many businesses understand the value of Zero Trust security but are unsure where to begin or which controls should be prioritized first. If you’d like help evaluating your current security posture and identifying practical next steps, schedule a free consultation with ITNS Consulting.

We’ll help assess your environment, identify access control and security gaps, and develop a practical roadmap for strengthening identity security, reducing risk, and supporting a Zero Trust strategy.

Build a Stronger Cybersecurity Foundation

Zero Trust starts with strong cybersecurity fundamentals.

Download our Cybersecurity Baseline Checklist to evaluate essential security controls, identify potential gaps, and take practical steps to strengthen your organization’s cybersecurity posture and support a Zero Trust security model.