In this lesson, we're going to cover
zero-trust architectures.
Now, in our current digital age,
we are constantly being bombarded
with digital threats that are more
sophisticated than ever before,
and this continually is putting our traditional
cybersecurity strategies to the test.
Now, traditional cybersecurity strategies
have always focused on using a strong perimeter,
and this way, we have a big defense,
much like an old castle has strong walls
and a moat around the castle
to keep threat actors at bay.
Now, the big problem with these old school
strategies though is that while they were
effective in the past,
they are no match for our modern networks.
After all, castles were the pinnacle
of security about a thousand years ago,
but these days, I can simply fly
over them with a drone
and attack anybody inside of that castle,
and those castle walls
and that moat aren't going to be able
to do anything to stop me.
Well, this is exactly how most computer
networks were secured over the past few decades.
Cybersecurity experts configured their networks
with strong external defenses like those
castle walls by using things like firewalls,
intrusion protection systems,
and other perimeter-based defenses.
But these days, many of our network devices
aren't inside the perimeter.
Instead, we call these deperimeterized.
Now, we have to instead protect all of our systems
and data using multiple levels of encryption,
secure protocols, data-level authentication,
and other host-based protection mechanisms,
because using a perimeter only structure
is simply not going to keep us safe when
we're working in a deperimeterized world.
From an operational perspective,
most people love deperimeterization
because it allows us to reduce our costs,
conduct business transactions from anywhere
in the world, and it's become increasingly
more agile for us to use as an organization
because we can work from anywhere
at any time we want.
The move to the cloud when combined with the rise
of work from home has really increased
our ability to conduct secure operations
within a deperimeterized architecture as well.
So deperimeterization has really occurred due
to the migration into the cloud,
the increase in remote work,
and people embracing mobile technologies
along with the rapid adoption
and use of wireless networks,
as we have this larger movement towards outsourcing
and contracting inside of our organizations.
But this whole deperimeterization movement
does really introduce a lot of risk to
our organizations too, if we're not careful.
So to protect these deperimeterized networks,
we simply can't rely on boundary defenses
or perimeter defenses anymore.
Instead, we have to implement a new best practice,
which is called, Zero-Trust.
Now, Zero-Trust is used to ensure the security
of your corporate network and your corporate data.
When we look at our traditional networks,
we used to believe there are networks
and our users were trusted because
we gave them access to those systems.
But under a Zero-Trust model,
this is simply not the case,
and that is considered to be a really
good thing in today's modern world.
You may have heard the old saying,
"trust but verify," which is made famous
by President Ronald Reagan back in the 1980s.
But as cybersecurity professionals,
we actually take this a step further.
When we implement a Zero-Trust architecture,
we instead want to quote our favorite mantra,
and this mantra is,
"trust nothing and verify everything."
Because this really does sum up
the entire architecture concept behind
a Zero-Trust system.
With Zero-Trust architectures, we demand
that verification happens for every device,
every user, and every transaction
that's occurring within our network
regardless of where it came from.
This means that whether a user is attempting
to access a system from within our organization's
physical office or from over the Internet,
because they're doing it from home remotely,
their identity and permissions are always
going to be verified.
This methodology also addresses the changing
nature of work and the digital landscape
that is moved into a deperimeterized format
while acknowledging that threats can emerge
from both inside or outside
of our organizational networks.
Now, in order to create a Zero-Trust architecture,
we're going to use two different planes.
These are called, the control plane,
and the data plane.
Now, the control plane refers to the overarching
framework and set of components that
are responsible for defining, managing,
and enforcing the policies related to the user's
and system access within an organization.
It provides a centralized way to dictate
and control how, when, and where access
is going to be granted to ensure that only
authenticated and authorized entities
can access specific resources.
The control plane typically encompasses
several key elements,
including adaptive identity,
threat scope reduction, policy-driven
access control, and secured zones.
First, we have adaptive identity.
In Zero-Trust architectures, we're going to assume
that static one-time verifications
are no longer sufficient.
So we have to use adaptive identities
that rely on real time validation that's going to
take into account the user's behavior,
their device, their location,
and other factors like that.
By continually assessing these variables,
our user identities are constantly adjusting
and adapting to the environment in order
to grant or restrict access to them as required.
Second, we have threat scope reduction.
Now, in Zero-Trust architectures, we want to
limit our users' access to only what they
need for their work-related tasks,
because this will drastically reduce
the network's potential attack surface.
This approach is focused on minimizing
the blast radius that could occur
in the event of a breach, and ensures
that the compromised credentials will not allow
an attacker to have unimpeded access
throughout your entire network or system.
Third, we have policy-driven access control.
Now, the policy-driven access control
is going to develop, manage, and enforce
user access policies.
This is going to be based on the roles
and responsibilities,
and it helps us by defining clear policies
that organizations can ensure that only users
who have access to the data that's going to
be pertinent to the role is going to exist,
and this will help reduce the potential
for successful data breaches against your
organization as well.
Fourth, we have secured zones.
Now, secured zones are isolated environments
within a network that are designed
to house sensitive data.
When you're dealing with a secure zone,
only users with the appropriate permissions
can access these zones,
and this creates a further layer
of isolation and protection.
Now, in addition to the control plane,
we also have something known as the data plane
that we're going to use to properly implement
our Zero-Trust architectures.
While the control plane is going to layout
the policies and procedures,
the data plane is going to ensure those
policies are being properly executed
so data can flow across the network.
Now, to secure our systems in a Zero-Trust
architecture, we're going to rely on the use
of subject systems, the policy engine,
the policy administrator,
and the policy enforcement point.
These functions will often be split
between the control plane and the data plane,
and they serve as the four basic steps
that we're going to use to verify and validate
a user's request to access the network
and transmit data over it.
First, we have the subject system.
The subject system refers to an individual
or entity that's attempting to gain access.
This could be an employee, a workstation,
or even a software application.
The primary objective here is to verify
the authenticity of the subject or system
before granting it access for them to be able
to access your sensitive data or systems.
The subject system will be evaluated by
the control plane and its policies,
and once authorized, the subject can then
have its data transmitted by the data plane.
Second, we have the policy engine.
Once the subject's identity is verified,
the policy engine is going to cross-reference
the access request with its predefined policies.
Think about it like a rule book
that determines whether the request aligns
with the subject's permissions.
This policy engine works directly with
the control plane because the control plane
is what's overseeing the creation,
management, and enforcement of the security
policies for your entire network.
Third, we have the policy administrator.
Now, the policy administrator is another
essential part of the Zero-Trust architecture
model because it's going to be used to establish
and manage the access policies themself.
This is the entity that's going to dictate
who gets to access what and ensures that
the policies are in alignment
with the organization's security protocols
and business objectives.
The policy administrator, together
with the policy engine, does form the backbone
of the control plane's functionality
in a Zero-Trust architecture.
Fourth, we have the policy enforcement point.
The policy enforcement point is the final step
in the process, and this is where the decision
to actually grant or deny access is going
to be executed. Based on the verification
from the subject or system and the policy
engine's determination,
the policy enforcement point is going to
then allow or restrict access
and it will effectively act as a gatekeeper
to the sensitive areas of your systems or networks.
Essentially, the policy enforcement point
is where the access control decisions
are going to be applied, which happens
in coordination with the control plane,
and then the data will be sent over
the network based on the request from
that subject system, which means
that only authenticated and authorized access
will be permitted on the data plane,
which is why the policy enforcement point
is usually classified as being part
of the data plane's functionality
within a Zero-Trust architecture.
So remember, Zero-Trust is a cybersecurity approach
that assumes no user or system is trusted by default.
It's going to require continuous verification
for access to your organization's resources
regardless of location or origin
of that network request.
Zero-Trust is more than just a security trend
though, it really is the acknowledgement from
the cybersecurity community that we are
facing an ever-evolving digital landscape where
threats can come from outside
or inside of your network.
While traditional perimeter-based defenses
still hold value and they should be used,
they are increasingly going
to be insufficient on their own
to protect your systems solely using
a perimeter defense methodology.
So as we navigate an age of remote work,
cloud computing, and ever-increasing arrays
of devices connecting to our networks
from inside and outside of our network,
Zero-Trust architecture principles will offer
us a roadmap to creating a more robust
and adaptable security posture.
By integrating the Zero-Trust strategies
and using our control planes and data planes,
organizations can proactively defend against
threats by recognizing that the trust
is a commodity that must be earned, verified,
and continuously reassessed at every enforcement
point within your systems and your networks.