Modern organizations are overwhelmed with the number of endpoints now exposed to cyber criminals. From cloud-based services to mobile devices to the internet of things and remote work, each business today has more vulnerabilities than ever. Lock-tight security is a must, but some security solutions available are not able to keep up with sophisticated cyber threats. That’s where Zero Trust has entered the picture.
Contrary to common belief, Zero Trust is not a technology you simply purchase and implement in your environment to improve security—nor is it an add-on to your existing legacy security solutions. It is a holistic approach to security based on the principle “never trust, always verify.” Luckily for Microsoft users, Microsoft has implemented a Zero Trust security model. Read on to learn more about Zero Trust and what you can expect from Microsoft regarding its efforts to keep your business safe.
What Is Zero Trust?
Zero Trust is a principle of verified trust: in order to trust, you must first verify, according to Microsoft. The concept removes any inherent trust an organization would have in its network. Zero Trust architecture ensures strong identity verification, grants access only after validating device compliance, and gives least privilege access to only those resources that are explicitly authorized to have it.
While Zero Trust does include changes to technology, it is more of an overall change in approaching security. Think of it a bit like the concept of digital transformation—it’s not one or even a set of technologies, although it does involve adopting technologies. It’s more of a shift in how your entire business runs to embrace digitalization. With Zero Trust, your organization is shifting to embrace new security practices.
What Is Microsoft Doing with Zero Trust?
Microsoft is taking a structured approach to Zero Trust that requires investments over multiple years and across multiple organizations and technologies. With four pillars, Microsoft has goals for its Zero Trust initiatives that include:
- Verify identity: This includes verifying and enforcing strong identities, eliminating passwords in favor of biometrics, and limiting access to applications and data to the minimum required.
- Verify device: This pillar includes enforcing client device health, having secure alternative access methods for unmanaged devices, and not giving administrative permissions to users on client devices.
- Verify access: Internet is the default network in all Microsoft locations in this pillar, and network segmentations are built based on role and function.
- Verify services: Finally, applications and conditions are enforced using conditional access, and applications and services are accessible directly from the internet.
Microsoft has made significant inroads and progress toward Zero Trust in recent years—strengthening the security posture of itself as a company and of its products for users. This shift means that it is enforcing a layered approach to securing both corporate and customer data, and it has changed the way users access the corporate environment at Microsoft. Some of the shifts Microsoft has achieved include:
- Increasing identity-authentication strength
- Transitioning to biometrics-based authentication by using Windows Hello for Business
- Deploying device management and device-health validation capabilities across all major platforms
- Providing secure access to company resources from unmanaged devices through Windows Virtual Desktop
- Expanding health-validation capabilities across devices and applications
And much more.
Questions About Zero Trust or Microsoft?
If you’re concerned about your organization’s security, you have every right to be, but there are technologies and solutions out there that can keep you safe. Point Alliance has been helping businesses leverage Microsoft technologies to not only improve communication, collaboration, profitability, and productivity but take advantage of the most advanced security solutions available. Microsoft has invested billions of dollars into securing its products, and we’d love to talk to you about how you can use them to shore up your own cybersecurity. Contact us with any questions.
