Zero trust is an approach to security that doesn’t require users to prove their identity or knowledge of confidential information before they can use resources. Rather than requiring authentication, zero trust uses risk assessment to determine if you are allowed access.

The concept comes from MIT’s Digital Forensics Lab and was first discussed in 2012. Since then, it has gathered attention for its potential to protect organizations by not requiring users to go through elaborate verification processes.

Zero trust isn’t new, but it is gaining popularity as technology advances make it possible to implement more effectively. For example, recent developments include using facial recognition software to verify users and advanced malware detection programs that look at only specific behaviors, rather than relying on signatures.

With all this talk about implementing zero trust, how do you actually do it? That’s what this article will help with! Read on to find out more about some important points related to designing a zero trust environment.

Who should implement zero trust?

As we mentioned before, not every organization has the ability or need for zero trust. In fact, only one out of two billion people on earth currently fits this description. The other 99% either have limited access and/or do not require it at all.

For most businesses that are still in their infancy or early stages of growth, limiting who can login is completely unnecessary. By requiring users to be verified through something like Facebook or Google+, you limit your pool of potential employees and customers.

As companies grow, however, things become more difficult. More services and systems come online, offering easier ways to log in and interact with your site.

Zero trust is no longer an ideal solution unless you don’t want anyone to ever log into your system. It may be time to consider more lenient authentication policies if and when you reach that stage.

Create a secure network

One of the biggest weaknesses in cybersecurity today is not having adequate levels of security for your workplace, department, or organization. Networks are heavily reliant upon trust these days, which makes it easy for someone with malicious intent to access sensitive information or even infiltrate internal systems.

As we know, just because you don’t see someone use illegal drugs doesn’t mean they never do. It also isn’t proof that something is safe.

It is impossible to create a completely “zero-trust” environment, but you can implement what we call zero-degree trust technology into your work routine to reduce risk to an acceptable level.

Zero degree trust means there are some actions that are totally permissible, and others that are not. With this approach, only things like email, file sharing, and certain websites are fully trusted activities, whereas other types of communication and computer usage modes fall under restricted or prohibited behaviors.

Change your login process

The first step in implementing zero trust is changing how you authenticate users. Gone are the days when most websites asked for all of your credentials, such as username and password, and then test account information against those to verify if you’re an authentic user.

Now, only one piece of data is needed to validate someone’s identity — their email. Users can use this verified email to create an account with you, or you can direct them back to another site that offers two-factor authentication (2FA).

This more streamlined approach to authentication was made possible by introducing digital certificates into our technology. A certificate is like having a unique identification code that allows something to “authenticate” who it is. Email is a very common type of certificate because anyone can create an email address, making it a good choice for verifying identities.

Google Authenticator is a free software application that creates easy to remember passwords via a digitized certificate called a token. By adding these tokens to accounts, we don’t need to know anything other than the user’s email to confirm they are who they say they are. This removes the need to ask for additional details like usernames and passwords.

By using this method of validation, sites no longer have a responsibility to check whether or not you are who you claim to be. They handle authentication instead, which helps limit liability.

Change your password

Changing your passwords is one of the most important things you can do to prevent malicious activity on your device. If someone finds out your old login credentials for your favorite sites, they can easily access your account information or make it easy for them by using those details to log in as you.

That’s why it is so crucial to use strong authentication methods that don’t require users to use their previous username and password. Some examples of this are logging into the site with our new Google or Facebook authenticator app, using SMS messages as 2-factor authentications, and using apps like Authy or Password Keeper where you create unique passwords for each website.

By using these tools, your safety net is even more robust because there isn’t just one piece protecting your accounts.

Use strong encryption

Strong encryption is one of the core components in ensuring that your site does not fall into what we call ‘The Dark Ages’ of cybersecurity, where hackers can easily access sensitive information due to poor security measures.

Modern cryptographic practices are very complex and most people do not understand them at all. This makes it easy for someone who wants access to your data to hire an expert team and learn how to use cryptography effectively.

You would be amazed at some of the things these experts can achieve with very little resources – something that was once considered impossible or expensive!

Cryptography has become integral to our daily lives online. We now rely on it heavily for everything from keeping personal messages private to verifying e-commerce transactions.

It is important to use effective cryptographic techniques when designing zero trust architectures. Not only will this keep you safer as an individual website owner, but it also limits the risk that your users may face. If I go onto Amazon and purchase a gift card then there is no way anyone can verify that it is valid until I physically have it.

With regards to internet services, this means that I could create an account using false details and gain access to valuable assets like email or credit cards.

Only allow trusted devices to connect to the network

The second major way to implement zero trust is by limiting which networks are allowed to connect to your system. This is called limited access networking, or LANs for short.

Networks that use IPSP (Internet Protocol Security) as their communication protocol can be categorized as having either strict or relaxed security. Strict IPsec protocols require users to authenticate using pre-defined credentials before being granted access, while relax DNS allows users to connect with any credential they have set up previously.

A typical example of this would be most public Wi-Fi hotspots, where you only need to enter your username and password to login. These types of networks have very little if no additional protection features other than requiring authentication.

Most home routers now also have this option, where even if you don’t have anything configured it will automatically create a secure connection for you. This is because most people who connect to free Wi-Fi probably have an account connected somewhere else already, so your router doesn’t see much value in protecting someone else’s data unless they first give you permission to do so.

This isn’t always ideal though, especially when you are trying to access resources such as YouTube or Netflix, both of which can easily cost around $10 per month. It makes sense then to not offer this feature to new users until they confirm ownership of at least one service.

Another common reason why this is undesirable is due to privacy concerns.

Monitor network traffic

The second fundamental pillar of zero trust is monitoring network traffic. This can be done via software or through physically looking at what devices are connecting to your server and from where.

Software solutions could include using an SSL/TLS proxy, such as Cloudflare’s free plan which you can use for this purpose here. You do not need to have a paid Cloudflare account to use their services so that is another way to implement it. There are also many other ways to do this with different products, but these two are some of the most common ones.

By looking into the data coming in and out of your website or service, we can determine if there is something suspicious about who is accessing your site and from where. By creating a history of normal activity, we can rule out anything potentially malicious.

It is important to note that even things like checking the weather or reading news websites will usually be safe, but it is better to avoid spending time on social media sites unless you really feel needed there. It may seem tedious at first, but in the long run, this will help ensure your company has a healthy working environment.

Zero trust doesn’t mean total distrust

Just because someone isn’t permitted access to certain parts of your system, or they aren’t given permission to speak to others within the organization doesn’t mean they are totally disconnected from the rest of the company.

Ensure your system is up to date

Along with ensuring that your website and apps are user friendly, zero trust security systems require an additional step – making sure that you have strong cybersecurity software on your computer.

Just like using common sense makes being safe in cars easier, having good quality cybersecurity software will help ensure that even more serious threats can be mitigated.

It’s not enough to simply install an app once onto your device; it has to be updated frequently, at least every few months. In fact, we recommend updating your software twice per year depending on how much you use each app.

This way, any newly discovered vulnerabilities won’t pose a risk for very long! Luckily, most apps now include easy to find tools to do this for you. You should make sure yours does too.

We also suggest keeping track of what apps you have installed by looking into their internal settings or through third-party sites. This way, you can easily remove unwanted apps without needing access to external accounts.