Zero Trust Implementation using Cloud Infrastructure

What is Zero Trust?

  1. Zero Trust is a security model that advocates for a “Never Trust, Always Verify” approach to security. Zero Trust assumes that any user, device, or network inside or outside an organization’s perimeter can be compromised.
  2. Zero Trust does not rely on the traditional network perimeter to protect corporate assets. It avoids relying on the hard security shell outside and chewy inside model.
  3. Zero Trust grants access to resources on a least privilege basis.
  4. Zero Trust verifies the identity of users and devices before granting access to sensitive data or systems. This can include the use of multi-factor authentication, device profiling, and other security measures.
  5. Zero Trust uses microsegmentation, which involves dividing a network into smaller segments and applying granular security policies to each segment. This makes it more difficult for attackers to move laterally within a network and gain access to sensitive resources.
  6. Zero Trust continuously monitors and analyzes activities in the systems and network to detect and respond to anomalies and potential threats in real-time. This can only happen with machine learning algorithms and an efficient Incident Response team.

Overall, the goal of a Zero Trust model is to reduce an organization’s attack surface by only allowing access to resources when necessary, and continuously verifying the identity and trustworthiness of users and devices. By taking this approach, organizations can better protect against cyber threats and prevent data breaches.

Six Steps to Implementing Zero Trust in Azure, Google, and AWS?

  1. Identify your critical assets: The first step in implementing Zero Trust is to identify the assets that are most critical (e.g. person or corporate sensitive information) to your organisation and need the highest level of protection. These might include servers, databases, or other resources that contain sensitive data or are critical to the operation of your business. Key technology components includes:
    • Azure: virtual machines, storage accounts, containers, drives, Sharepoint sites and other business critical assets.
    • Google: Google Drive files, Gmail messages, Google Cloud Storage buckets, Google Compute Engine instances, and other business critical assets.
    • AWS: Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instances, Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) buckets, and other business critical assets.
  1. Implement Multi-Factor Authentication: To verify the identity of users, consider implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all critical assets. MFA requires users to provide at least two forms of authentication, such as a password and a security code sent to their phone, to access sensitive resources. Key technology components includes:
    • Azure: Azure Active Directory (AD).
    • Google: Google Cloud Identity.
    • AWS: AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) for authentication.
  1. Implement Device Profiling: To verify the trustworthiness of devices, consider implementing device profiling. This involves collecting information about devices that access your network, such as the operating system, hardware, and installed software. This information can be used to create a “fingerprint” for each device and allow access to resources only from trusted devices. Key technology components includes:
    • Azure: Azure AD Conditional Access
    • Google: Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP), Beyond Corp
    • AWS: AWS Certificate Manager used for SSL/TLS certificates and verification.
  1. Implement Microsegmentation: To reduce the attack surface of your network, consider implementing microsegmentation. This involves dividing your network into smaller segments and applying granular security policies to each segment. This makes it more difficult for attackers to move laterally within your network and gain access to sensitive resources. Key technology components includes:
    • Azure: Azure Private Link
    • Google: Google Virtual Private Cloud
    • AWS: Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)
  1. Implement Continuous Monitoring and Analytics: To detect and respond to potential threats in real-time, consider implementing continuous monitoring and analytics. This can include the use of machine learning algorithms to identify unusual behavior and flag it for investigation, as well as real-time monitoring of network activity to detect potential threats Key technology components includes:
    • Azure: Azure Security Center
    • Google: Google Cloud Security Command Center
    • AWS: AWS Security Hub
  1. Review and update policies and procedures: Finally, review and update your policies and procedures to ensure they align with the principles of Zero Trust. This might include updating employee training materials, revising access control policies, and regularly reviewing and updating security protocols.
    • Azure, Google, AWS: Use RiskView HTRA tool and services to update your policy, standards, and procedures.

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