In today's increasingly connected world, where information is constantly flowing in and out of our devices, networks, and cloud systems, security is an imperative concern. Gone are the days where companies could simply install a firewall and call it a day. The rise of sophisticated cyberattacks and data breaches has made it clear that a new approach to security is needed
Enter the concept of Zero Trust, which assumes an open environment where trust must be validated and that a breach is inevitable. The Zero Trust approach takes a proactive stance, verifying and explicitly validating the trust of users, devices, applications, and data. The key to this method is the principle of using least privileged access, which helps to limit the impact of any given compromise."
The Zero Trust approach to security involves a comprehensive plan for hardening and protecting systems, applications, and data. It starts with considering security when planning workloads and understanding the individual protections in place for different cloud services. A service enablement framework can be used to evaluate these protections and ensure they align with the Zero Trust principles.
One of the key principles of Zero Trust is least privilege, which means limiting access and permissions to the bare minimum necessary to perform tasks. This principle should be applied throughout the application and control plane to protect sensitive data and systems. Automation through DevSecOps can help enforce this principle and ensure that security is integrated into the development process.
Data classification and encryption are also important components of Zero Trust security. Data should be classified according to its level of risk, and industry-standard encryption should be applied both at rest and in transit. This ensures that keys and certificates are stored securely and managed properly.
To effectively monitor security and plan for incident response (IR), security and audit events must be correlated to model application health and identify active threats. Automated and manual procedures should be established to respond to incidents, and security information and event management (SIEM) tooling should be used for tracking.
Endpoints, both internal and external, must also be protected as part of the Zero Trust approach. This can be done through security appliances or Azure services such as firewalls and web application firewalls, and by using industry-standard approaches to protect against common attacks. Code-level vulnerabilities, such as cross-site scripting and Structured Query Language (SQL) injection, should be identified and mitigated, and regularly incorporating security fixes and patching into the operational lifecycle is essential.
It's important to model potential threats and test mitigation strategies. Procedures should be established to identify and mitigate known threats, and penetration testing can be used to verify the effectiveness of these strategies. Static code analysis and code scanning can also help detect and prevent future vulnerabilities.
About 9Spokes
Being a cloud platform, security is one of the most important factors for 9Spokes and our clients – 9Spokes are ISO 27001 certified, the business practices “Defense in Depth” and has built a comprehensive set of security controls through the layers of the platform.
Microsoft’s Azure Kubernetes Service Virtual Machines powers the core operating environment. Dealing with substantial amounts of data comes with the responsibility to ensure data privacy and have security measures in place — crucial when working in the financial services industry. Our security model provides a comprehensive information security system that satisfies our bank partners' expectations.
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