Key principles of Zero Trust security

July 22, 2024

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"Never trust, always verify", - this is what Zero Trust security teaches us. Zero Trust is a security framework requiring all users, whether in or outside the organization's network, to be authenticated, authorized, and continuously validated for security configuration and posture before being granted or keeping access to applications and data. Zero Trust addresses all challenges of modern business models, including hybrid and remote working environments.

To stay calm and prepared for hacker attacks companies look for solutions that will help protect their IT infrastructure and corporate communication as well as close security gaps. Unlike traditional security models which assume that users, devices, and applications inside the network are trusted and get access to all data, in Zero Trust environment users are only given access to the data and applications they need to do their job. To ensure secure communication, it is necessary not only to give users the right privileges, but also to create stable server environment independent from foreign cloud providers and setup protected communication and collaboration channels on all devices.

What is Zero Trust security?

Zero trust is a network security model assuming that no one inside or outside the network should be trusted unless their identification has been thoroughly checked. It sticks to the following key principles:

Thorough verification. Authentication and authorization must cover all available data points, such as anomalies, data classification, device integrity, resources and location. Every device that connects to the network is considered untrusted until verified.

Minimization of external impact. Zero Trust shifts the focus from perimeter-based security to user-centric protection. This as a result provides better resilience against security breaches. To minimize impact of external breaches Zero Trust offers the following strategies to achieve this: MFA (Multi-factor authentication), behavior analysis and micro-segmentation.

Monitoring and auditing. Continuous monitoring and management of devices ensure they comply with security policies, protecting the network from potentially compromised devices. On the other hand, failure to perform periodic reviews of cybersecurity plans and procedures, as well as failing to regularly test those resources, can increase the risk of unauthorized cyber attacks.

Micro-segmentation. To reduce the surface for attack and limit attacker's movement, the network is divided into smaller segments, each with its own security controls. As a result, this makes threats harder to spread and infect the whole network.

Data protection. Security of corporate data is a critical aspect of Zero Trust. Data protection techniques such as encryption, back up and disaster recovery, access control, steganography, network and physical security help to prevent data leakage and losses.

Least privileged access. Such access is provided only when it is needed and for as long as it is required to complete a task. In many companies not much attention is paid to secure access and users have static privileged access accounts. Such accounts can be used by bad actors. The idea of least privileged access is to grant it only when users need it to do their jobs.

How Virola fulfills Zero Trust in its corporate messenger

Virola is a secure corporate messenger which provides organizations with secure and reliable communication and collaboration tools for voice and video meetings, calls, messages exchange, files sharing, tasks management and documents storage. The following features of Virola business messenger can fit the Zero Trust model:

• User roles and permissions. All user accounts are managed by an administrator and all users, a group of users in a specific communication channel or each user individually can be granted or restricted specific permissions. This way, Virola admin can grant the lowest possible access rights of the Zero Trust principle.
• Self-hosted solution. You can host Virola business messenger on-premise and ensure all your corporate information is secure and protected.
• Data encryption. All data is protected during the transfer by public-key cryptography and SSL. For voice chats symmetric-key encryption AES is used. The keys are generated on the server when it is running and are renewed within a specific period of time. The keys are stored in RAM only while the server is running.
• Server logs allow to record access by all users. It is possible to view the logs to find out who and when logged into Virola client.
• Zero Trust product strategy. Virola is being developed with security in mind. The main priority is secure communication and collaboration within organizations.