How to Implement Zero Trust with SenseOn

Bad news first. Implementing Zero Trust is more complex than using a particular service or a product. 

Although definitions vary, Zero Trust is an approach to network architecture that moves security closer to user actions and away from network assets. In a 100% Zero Trust environment, no user, process or application inside a network is trusted by default. No technical control will ever bring you 100% of the way to this point, but adhering to Zero Trust requires solutions that:

1. Function within a trustless environment.
2. Cover security gaps that emerge as you travel towards 100% Zero Trust.

In a Zero Trust environment, data flows are authenticated based on policies and user permissions. Nothing is a de facto legitimate network action just because it happens inside a firewall. 

As a result, establishing a Zero Trust environment is partly an administrative task. Policies are an essential starting point, and users need to be trained to use multi-factor authentication (MFA) and/or biometrics for their job. However, there is also a technical challenge, and the good news is that this challenge can be solved with solutions like SenseOn.

Here’s how to start implementing Zero Trust within your organisation and where SenseOn comes in. 

Use Micro-Segmentation

For most organisations adopting ZeroTrust architecture means a total overhaul of how network security happens.

Within a traditional perimeter network security model, a user will connect to a corporate network via a virtual private network (VPN). The benefit here is that the connection between the user and the network comes through a secure tunnel. The downside is that each user has an “all or nothing” connection to their network. If a threat actor compromises the VPN, which often happens, the network itself is de facto compromised. 

To achieve Zero Trust, especially in complex hybrid cloud environments, organisations are moving away from this model and towards one where their network is primarily protected internally through micro-segmentation. 

In a micro-segmented network, security shifts in focus from protecting the network perimeter, and an IP address no longer guarantees user identity. With Zero Trust, security comes from inside the network through every application, workload, and service being isolated from unauthorised connections. 

A micro-segmented network will be protected by an extensive series of access policies that limit server access and define what users can do. 

However, achieving accurate network micro-segmentation is a massive challenge. The reality of most networks is that they tend to be more complex than anyone thinks they are. 

Defining and enforcing policies for even a single server based on location, resource capacity, applications, users, etc., is a difficult task. Dealing with the added layers of complexity of individual users, applications, and workloads is even more so. Traditional NDR solutions are not designed to handle the complexity of micro-segmentation. This is because micro-segmentation creates smaller network segments, which can make it difficult for NDR solutions to monitor the communication between them effectively.

Learn more: Why EDR and NDR tools are not Zero Trust Security Solutions & What to Use Instead

Cover Security Blind Spots

If maintained 100% of the time, micro-segmentation policies should protect assets within your environment at the most granular levels. But, as we know from the number of cloud data breaches that happen due to misconfiguration, applying security policies at scale in increasingly complex hybrid and cloud environments is a challenge.

Almost every organisation has a larger attack surface than it currently accounts for. Many network-connected assets will be outside the scope of what is included in an IT asset inventory, and there will inevitably be unsecured assets. During the transition to a zero-trust network environment, these unknown assets are a source of risk, and a Zero Trust network security solution becomes more essential. 

Traditional endpoint and network security tools cannot cover these risks without extensive management and configuration. For example, NDR solutions typically rely on monitoring traffic at the network perimeter. However, Zero Trust reduces the network perimeter’s significance, making it difficult for NDR solutions to get comprehensive visibility into the entire network’s traffic.

For Zero Trust to be effective, security teams need to be able to move beyond siloed security viewpoints. 

In a perimeter-less environment, it’s not good enough to have cybersecurity controls like security information and event management (SIEM), network detection and response (NDR), endpoint detection and response (EDR) etc., all communicating different data through various interfaces. Security teams need a single source of truth that collects rich information from users, cloud and premise endpoints and network traffic across their OSI layers. 

Learn more: Why Traditional Security Solutions Don’t Fit Zero Trust Architecture

Use a Zero Trust Solution

A Zero Trust architecture needs security solutions that can work within a trustless network without overwhelming teams with false alerts, impacting business processes, hampering visibility, or leaving security gaps. 

SenseOn protects your move to Zero Trust architecture by providing granular visibility into security blind spots.

Natively collecting process information from endpoints and granular network telemetry through deep packet inspection (DPI), SenseOn unifies data together at source. For any organisation adopting Zero Trust architecture, this is a quantum leap beyond the traditional siloed methods of security control.

SenseOn collects and analyses telemetry data from all devices and applications in the network, providing continuous visibility into user and device behaviour. This data is used to identify anomalies and potential threats, even in a micro-segmented environment.

This means that security teams can get contextualised information about any incident that happens within their environment. And, with over 600 detections built in, they can immediately deploy an automated detection and response solution without any requirement for manual configuration & fine-tuning. 

Learn more: What Zero Trust Vendors Need to Tell You

Zero Trust with SenseOn

Organisations, including a central UK Government Department, use SenseOn as a security solution as they adopt a Zero Trust architecture.

The reason why is that SenseOn is a perfect fit Zero Trust implementation solution. It delivers instant capability out of the box, needs a software-only silent install, uses minimal resources and does not require rebooting systems.  

Contact us to learn more.