When it comes to cybersecurity, it may be tempting to cut corners. After all, who thinks they will be the next target of a cyberattack? Many live in the delusion that they are safe from harm. However, this is a dangerous misconception, as the report “The State of Data Security in 2023 and Beyond” revealed that 64% of data security professionals were overconfident about their organization’s security, while 41% had a security breach in the last 12 months. Data that reflects the threat of a cyberattack should not be underestimated.

The principle of zero-trust – where all users must be authenticated, authorized and continuously validated before being granted access to apps and data – is emerging as not only a logical strategy but an effective one as well. Here are three reasons to use zero-trust as your organization’s guiding principle, particularly for a remote workforce.

Ensuring a Higher Level of Security

With a remote workforce comes access from various locations and devices, which may have lower security standards than corporate networks. To address this challenge, organizations should implement zero-trust principles, which ensure that every user and device, whether on or off the corporate network, is verified, authorized and monitored at all times. This reduces the risk of unauthorized access, data breaches and other security incidents, as well as improves the visibility and control over the remote workforce. By adopting zero-trust principles, organizations can enhance their security posture and protect their data and assets from both external and internal threats.

Mitigation of Insider Threats

No company wants to think a breach can be generated from inside actors. However, research shows that as many as 82% of security breaches in the U.S. were at least partially caused by human error. Insider threats can be more challenging to detect and prevent with remote workers, as they have greater autonomy and access to sensitive data.

Zero-trust assumes that threats may exist both inside and outside the network perimeter, making it well-suited for identifying and mitigating insider threats by continuously monitoring user and device behavior. Zero-trust also applies the principle of least privilege, which means that users and devices only have access to the resources and applications they need to perform their tasks, and nothing more.

This limits the potential damage that an insider threat can cause, as well as the likelihood of accidental data exposure or loss. Zero-trust also enables organizations to enforce granular policies and controls, such as multi-factor authentication, encryption and audit logs, to ensure compliance and accountability.

Increased Employee Productivity

Remote work offers employees flexibility and can increase productivity, but it also introduces security challenges for many organizations. Zero-trust principles allow organizations to provide secure access to resources and applications for remote workers without compromising security.

This ensures that employees can work from anywhere, using any device, while maintaining the same level of security as if they were in the office. In this way, remote work becomes an opportunity rather than a trade-off for security. Zero-trust also improves employee productivity by reducing the friction and complexity of accessing resources and applications. Employees do not have to deal with multiple passwords, VPNs, or firewalls, as zero-trust provides a seamless and user-friendly experience. Zero-trust distributes the security primitives to the application edge making every API or application access provide secure communication by default.

Zero-trust can also foster employee productivity by increasing trust and collaboration among the remote workforce, as it ensures that everyone is following the same security standards and policies. In this way, remote work becomes an opportunity rather than a trade-off for security.

Putting Zero-Trust to Work

One of the ways to put zero-trust principles into practice is to use technical controls that isolate and protect the user’s interaction with the internet. For example, remote browser isolation is a technique that runs the web browser in a remote server, and only delivers the visual output to the user’s device. This way, any malicious content or code is prevented from reaching the user’s device or network. All this while being seamless to the end-user that the browser is running remotely in an isolated container.

Another example is using virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) or desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) to create secure workspaces for remote workers. VDI/DaaS allows users to access a virtual desktop that runs on a centralized server, rather than on their device. This means that the user’s device does not store any data or applications, and only acts as a display and input device. VDI/DaaS can provide a consistent and secure user experience, regardless of the device or location of the user.

By using these techniques, organizations can reduce the attack surface and the risk of data breaches, while enabling remote workers to access the resources and applications they need.

Zero-trust is the smart way to secure your remote workforce. It uses the existing security technology to strengthen your defenses. When done right, it results in a more secure future with the technology available in the security space.