PRESS RELEASE
BETHESDA, Maryland, July 16, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — As organizations continue to strengthen their cybersecurity strategies in response to an ever-evolving threat landscape, many are turning to Zero Trust architectures to protect their data. However, implementing Zero Trust is not without its challenges. According to a new strategy guide from the SANS Institute, “Navigating the path to a zero-trust state by 2024“Enterprises often encounter key obstacles on their path to Zero Trust adoption.
“The path to achieving a true state of Zero Trust is not straightforward. Organizations often face several fundamental challenges when attempting to implement end-to-end Zero Trust principles across their entire environment,” said Ismael Valenzuela, SANS Senior Instructor and author of the Cyber Defense and Blue Team Operations course. SANS SEC530: Defensible Security Architecture and Engineering. “By understanding and addressing these common mistakes, companies can make better strategic and tactical decisions and increase their resilience to changing threats.”
The top five errors identified are listed below:
● Overlooking the importance of organizational culture: Zero Trust is more than just a technological shift; it requires a fundamental shift in organizational culture. Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) must align security with strategic, operational, and financial priorities. As the strategy guide states, “Effective security is driven by people, processes, and technology.” Failing to secure stakeholder buy-in from the start can doom Zero Trust initiatives to failure.
● Underestimating human risk: Employee errors and negligence are responsible for more than 80% of data breaches. Hybrid work environments blur the lines between personal and professional spaces, increasing the complexity of monitoring user activity. “A zero-trust architecture is an important line of defense against human risk,” the strategy guide emphasizes. Organizations must implement continuous monitoring and real-time assessment of user behavior to mitigate these risks.
● Supply chain neglect: Recent high-profile supply chain attacks have highlighted the vulnerabilities of interconnected systems. According to Gartner, by 2025, 45% of organizations worldwide will have experienced supply chain attacks. Zero trust principles help limit the impact of these breaches by ensuring continuous verification and greater visibility into user activity.
● Failing to plan for sustainable success: Zero Trust implementation is a long-term commitment that requires continuous improvement and adaptation. SANS’ strategy guide highlights the importance of effective change management practices: “Effective change management ensures stakeholder buy-in, facilitates user adoption, minimizes disruption, promotes continuous improvement, and enhances collaboration.”
● Inadequate measurement of success: Measuring the effectiveness of a zero trust framework is critical to maintaining stakeholder support. The guide suggests several metrics, including authentication success rates, policy compliance rates, and time taken to detect and respond to incidents. These metrics provide a clear picture of the framework’s impact and highlight areas for improvement.
“Embracing the Zero Trust mindset of ‘never trust, always verify’ is essential to modern cybersecurity,” Valenzuela said. “However, the real challenge lies in having a realistic understanding of what a Zero Trust architecture looks like and avoiding common pitfalls during implementation. From cultural shifts to technical implementations, this offers vital guidance to help organizations successfully navigate the complexities of Zero Trust and improve their cybersecurity resilience.”
To learn more about implementing Zero Trust and download the full strategy guide, visit: https://www.sans.org/u/1xo2
