Why is zero trust important for your business?

As if a pandemic wasn’t enough to disrupt business operations, the year 2020 also brought in new and even bigger cybersecurity threats. And because cybersecurity threats will always be present and ever changing, businesses must be able to adapt in order to secure their data and protect their customers.

Some organizations are using the zero trust model to strengthen their cybersecurity strategy. But what is it? What IT solutions does your business need to implement zero trust? How can a managed services provider (MSP) help you with the important task of securing important data? Read on to learn more.

What is zero trust?

Zero trust isn’t entirely a new concept. The zero trust network or zero trust architecture model was created in 2010 by John Kindervag, the vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research at that time. Kindervag’s model emphasized that trust is actually a vulnerability.

Simply put, you shouldn’t trust anything just because it’s already in your network, as it can still be exploited by attackers. A zero trust solution continually and dynamically validates security configuration before granting access to applications and data. It might look tedious or redundant, but this method allows you to be thorough in securing your business.

What are the benefits of zero trust?

Implementing the zero trust model can deliver not only data security but also impressive business results. Here are some of its benefits:

• Protect your business and customer – Implementing and maintaining data security can be a daunting task, but you don’t have to do it alone. An MSP provides a wide range of IT solutions for your business’s needs, which includes protecting important business data. An experienced MSP team can help find the appropriate security measures for your business like implementing zero trust. This combined effort by you and your MSP can prevent business operation disruptions, thus improving customer experience. Positive customer experience, in turn, ensures continued patronage.
• Build a stronger reputation – The ability to protect sensitive data shows your stakeholders and customers that you’re running a reputable, secured business. This good reputation can help make compliance with government and industry regulations a breeze.
• Save on financial costs – Implementing and maintaining outdated systems can be very complicated and expensive. Shifting to cloud-based zero trust solutions through a trusted MSP, for example, removes the need to purchase hardware by migrating almost all security functions to a cloud services approach that can usually be scaled up or down as needed. Zero trust also protects you from data breaches and data loss, as well as their associated costs. According to a report by IBM and the Ponemon institute, the average cost of a data breach in 2020 is $3.86 million.
• Streamline operations – Since zero trust is a cloud-based solution, organizations that adopt this model no longer need to install and maintain several complex equipment to secure each data center. They can simply use a single service to secure all of their applications, data, devices, etc. By reducing complexity and streamlining operations, you can do more and maximize your security and IT staff.
• Easily gain visibility into your system – Zero trust lets you see exactly who is accessing the network at any given time, as well as what information they’re accessing and where they’re accessing it from. This allows you to monitor the activities of all internal and external users on their devices. This kind of visibility makes it possible for your team to better analyze and implement security policies, reduce attack risk, and quickly identify and respond to security incidents.

With the development of more advanced cybersecurity attacks, it’s crucial to adapt by transforming how you manage security. When you enforce an effective zero trust approach, you’re ensured that only authorized users and devices have access to your business’s data. For more information about zero trust and guidance from IT experts, call Online Computers today or send a message!

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