Three Zero Trust Security Myths | Blog | BTA

You may know that your business needs to implement a Zero Trust architecture and deploy policies to protect against ransomware and other insidious threats. But understanding exactly what Zero Trust is can be a major challenge. The truth is, Zero Trust is widely misunderstood. Let's clear up a few of the most pervasive myths in this post.

MYTH #1: ZERO TRUST IS A PRODUCT

Has anyone told you that you can purchase Zero Trust with a SKU? Put zero trust in those words, because you absolutely cannot buy a single product that delivers what Zero Trust truly is. Zero Trust is a model, a way of thinking, and an architecture that considers many aspects and best practices when the "journey" is managed appropriately.

MYTH #2: ZERO TRUST IS DIFFICULT TO IMPLEMENT

Zero trust is no more difficult to implement than any other enterprise-wide initiative. It requires:

1. A vision
2. Business buy-in

If you have these two things in place then you can begin to move forward, because you understand what the use cases and the challenges are. Then you can start to choose tools, and you can absolutely do that gradually. For example, if you don't yet have solid, central, single sign-on (SSO) network access control, that might be the next best step for your business.

MYTH #3: ZERO TRUST ADDRESSES A TECHNOLOGY PROBLEM.

Policy visibility and enforcement is a business problem - problem that can be solved today with the right people, processes, and tools. These tools have finally matured to a point where they can make a material difference around risk mitigation, particularly against threats like malware and ransomware.

Why is a lack of Zero Trust architecture a business problem?

1. Business Continuity is at significant risk.

• In the modern enterprise network, you have to presume the "bad guys" are already inside. A Zero Trust architecture limit the blast radius.
• In the worst case of a compromise, you can't even run the business due to data being held for ransom. That can cost the company millions in lost revenue, productivity, and reputational damage. Even the ability to recover assumes the threat actors keep their word and return control after they're paid.
• In the best case of a compromise, you'll need to return business data to a valid point in time backup - IF one exists. Without the right tools in place, you will probably not know exactly when the environment was breached.

2. Business lifecycles are delayed, or even blocked.

Mergers, acquisitions, and divestures face debilitating time-to-value calculations. The ability to rapidly identify dependencies, or verify security of acquired or divested applications, can significantly reduce integration/compliance timelines driving cost savings and assurance for all parties.

3. Business protection becomes prohibitive.

Cyber risk insurance becomes prohibitively expensive due to rapidly rising premiums, or even unavailable, as the result of insufficient security infrastructure, process, and people in place.

So... How does BTA help you address these challenges?

Use our proven S.I.M.P.L.E. process to rapidly identify all flows in the network

• Create a process that streamlines policy development and approval
• Enforce policies in a matter of weeks - not six to twelve months, or more
• Ensure that your team is ready to operate going forward through training and mentoring during the engagement
• Provide ongoing advisory or fully managed services if your team doesn't have the bandwidth or expertise to operate in the short, medium, or long term

Zero Trust is absolutely an achievable objective. Would you like to learn more about how to get started? Register for our private Zero Trust Workshop where your business receives 1:1 attention from our seasoned security engineers: Zero Trust Registration

Zero Trust: What It Is, and What It's Not

Zero trust is widely misunderstood. Join us for a conversation with BTA Founder and CEO Ken Fee, where we discuss what exactly zero trust is, and dispel common myths and misconceptions surrounding it.