Zero Trust is no longer a buzzword, it’s a necessary concept for modern organizations that want to manage their security risks in a hybrid IT-landscape. But how do you put words into deeds? And why is identity security a corner stone in this approach?
What is Zero Trust Network Architecture
Zero trust means: Trust nobody, verify everything
Access to resources is never granted by default, not even within your own network. Every request for access must be explicitly verified, logged, and restricted to only what is strictly necessary.
Start with your foundations: Identity security
Identity is often called “the new gold” in cybersecurity because controlling identities has become the most effective and valuable way for both attackers and defenders to gain access or protect digital resources.
To secure identities, organizations should focus on:
Strong and contextual authentication
- Multi-Factor Authentication is a must
- Passwordless solutions (such as Windows Hello or FIDO2) increase both user experience and security
Watch out with on-premises access
- Traditional MFA solutions are often limited to cloud solutions.
- For on-premises technologies such as RDP, PowerShell, legacy applications or file shares, MFA is hard to achieve without extra tooling.
- To apply an extra layer to the protocols described above, Silverfort can be leveraged, without the need to change your applications.
Limit or phase out legacy protocols
- Think of NTLM, LLMNR, and other outdated communication protocols that are exploited in lateral movement attacks.
- Block or replace these as much as possible, and actively restrict or monitor their use.
Identity Governance & least privilege
- Ensure automated provisioning and deprovisioning.
- Use Just-in-Time access and roles based on the principle of least privilege.
Risk-based access control
- Apply Conditional Access: block or tighten access for risky sign-ins or non-compliant devices.
Protecting identities
- Use tools such as Microsoft Defender for Identity to detect lateral movement or suspicious authentication events
Building your ZTNA: practical steps
Identity & Access security
- MFA, passwordless authentication, Conditional Access
- Add MFA to on-prem components using specialized solutions (such as Silverfort).
- Avoid using outdated protocols such as NTLM and LLMNR
- Implement a Tiered Access model to enforce least privilege and isolate admin roles, supporting Zero Trust principles by separating access to critical assets.
Only allow secure devices
- Only compliant, managed devices (Intune, MDM)
- Detect & block compromised devices
Microsegmentation & ZTNA
- Use a microsegmentation platform like Illumio to define and enforce granular segmentation policies across hybrid environments.
- Segment workloads and applications based on role and sensitivity to limit lateral movement and reduce attack surface.
- Monitor and log internal traffic flows to gain visibility into east-west movement and detect abnormal behavior.
Protect your data
- Enable Data Loss Prevention (DLP) to monitor and prevent unauthorized data exposure.
- Automatically classify data and audit access to ensure visibility and control over sensitive information.
- Use encryption and restrict sharing to protect data at rest, in transit, and during collaboration.
Detect & respond
- Use SIEM tooling to collect and correlate your logs
- Automate responses and alerting
We also offer 24/7 SOC services, including monitoring, incident response, and reporting. Feel free to contact us for more information.
Zero Trust is a journey, not a destination
Zero Trust is not a product but a strategy. Start by using identity as the central control point and gradually build toward a mature, dynamic architecture. Begin with essentials such as MFA and Conditional Access, then expand step by step with device compliance, segmentation, and data classification.
Without strong identity security, true Zero Trust is not possible.
