Zero Trust is a strategic approach to cybersecurity that simplifies risk management to a single use case : the removal of all implicit trust for users , applications , and infrastructure .

For years , organisations implemented layer upon layer of defences-firewalls , antivirus software , twofactor authentication , intrusion prevention systems , URL filters , sandboxes , and more – to protect what was inside of their security perimeter . Essentially , they ’ ve been playing a game of whack-a-mole , trying to deflect threats and risks as soon as they emerge but never quite catching them all or ever getting ahead of them .

This approach to security was never truly effective . Now , it ’ s even less relevant because organisations can no longer inherently trust what ’ s inside of their security perimeter . The perimeter has been eroding for years due to trends like mobility , BYOD , and cloud computing . Now , however , the rapid acceleration of Digital Transformation in response to the global health crisis has forever changed the IT landscape .

Organisations have been racing to add tools and technologies to meet new and intensifying demands , such as the need to transform the network to support a hybrid workforce or move more data centre applications to the cloud . Under pressure to evolve quickly , many enterprises have been forced to take an ad hoc approach to Digital Transformation instead of a thoughtful , holistic one . The result ? They ’ ve inadvertently created an IT environment that is much more fragmented , complex , porous , and murkier than ever before-an ideal habitat for threats and risks to thrive .

A unique opportunity to rethink and rebuild security

As organisations look to expand Digital Transformation further and prepare for the future of work , they should step back to evaluate their current IT environment and how they ’ re securing it . Most will discover- and likely be surprised to find-that they have 100 or more disparate point solutions for security , from application firewalls to secure web gateways deployed across the enterprise . Yet , despite all of this coverage , security gaps abound . p

20 INTELLIGENTCIO MIDDLE EAST www . intelligentcio . com

Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 83 | Page 20

BUILDING THE ZERO TRUST ENTERPRISE

Zero Trust is a strategic approach to cybersecurity that simplifies risk management to a single use case : the removal of all implicit trust for users , applications , and infrastructure .