What is Zero Trust? An insight into Cloudflare's Zero Trust network
What is Zero Trust?
Zero Trust is a concept originally coined by Gartner and now adopted by Cloudflare around a suite of Cloud based products. As a concept, it is a software strategy that enables organisations to be extra vigilant about who has access to what information.
Zero Trust pushes the qualification of this access out to the edges of the network effectively ‘shuttering off’ areas which the user does not have permission to access and can be used in different ways to drive different outcomes – ultimately ensuring that everything is as secure as it can be. Some examples include the following:
Remote Access
Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and Software-Defined Perimeter (SDP) are ways to make sure that only authorised people can access sensitive information when they’re working remotely. This way, even if an attacker gets hold of someone’s login information, they still wouldn’t be able to access anything important.
Securing Smaller Networks
Micro-segmentation ensures that even if an attacker gets into one part of your network, they can’t access other components. By creating smaller, more secure zones within your network, you can ensure that critical information stays safe.
Cloud Storage
Zero Trust can be used to secure resources and applications in the cloud. You can keep your cloud-based information safe by only allowing authorised users and devices to access things.
Internet of Things (IoT) Security
Use Zero Trust to keep IoT devices and networks safe by limiting their access to sensitive resources and monitoring their communication for anything suspicious.
Endpoint Security
Zero trust can be implemented on endpoint (edge) devices like laptops and smartphones by verifying the device, its OS and its applications before allowing access to resources.
In all these examples, the idea is to be extra cautious and not automatically trust anyone trying to access sensitive information. Instead, verifying the identity of users and devices and their permissions, before granting access to ensure that only authorised people can gain access to sensitive information.
So how does Cloudflare's Zero Trust platform fit into the concept of zero trust? The platform is essentially a collection of security products that work together to provide a comprehensive zero trust solution.
What are the benefits of Cloudflare's Zero Trust solution?
Cloudflare Zero Trust is a security platform that provides several features and benefits, including:
Access control
Cloudflare Zero Trust allows organisations to set granular access controls for their networks and resources, ensuring that only authorised users and devices can access sensitive data.
Multi-factor authentication
Cloudflare Zero Trust supports multiple forms of authentication, including biometrics, password-less, and multi-factor authentication. These make it more difficult for attackers to gain access to your network.Network segmentation
Cloudflare Zero Trust allows you to segment your network and limit the access of devices and users to specific resources, reducing the risk of a data breach.
End-to-end encryption
Cloudflare Zero Trust provides end-to-end encryption to protect data in transit and at rest, ensuring that even if a hacker can access your network, they cannot read the data.
Threat detection and response
Cloudflare Zero Trust includes advanced threat detection and response capabilities, which allow organisations to quickly identify and respond to potential security threats.
Compliance
Cloudflare Zero Trust is designed to help organisations meet compliance requirements for data security and privacy regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA and SOC 2.Easy to deploy
Easy to deploy and scale, making it accessible for organisations of all sizes.
Integrations
It integrates with a wide range of third-party tools and systems, allowing organisations to easily integrate it into their security infrastructure.
Risk-based access
Cloudflare Zero Trust uses risk-based access to dynamically adjust access controls for users and devices based on real-time risk assessments, which helps to reduce the risk of a security breach.Single Sign-On (SSO)
Cloudflare Zero Trust supports SSO, which allows users to access multiple applications and services with a single set of credentials, reducing the need for multiple usernames and passwords and making it more convenient for users.
Endpoint security
Cloudflare Zero Trust includes endpoint security features that help to protect devices from malware and other threats, reducing the risk of a data breach.
Unified security
Cloudflare Zero Trust can be used to secure both on-premises and cloud-based resources, providing a unified security solution that can be used across an organisation's entire IT infrastructure.
Reporting
It provides detailed reporting and analytics, allowing organisations to monitor security-related activity and identify potential issues, helping them stay informed and take proactive measures to address potential risks.Firewall integration
It can be integrated with other security tools, such as firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and VPNs, to provide a comprehensive security solution that covers all aspects of an organisation's IT infrastructure.
Secure applications
Cloudflare Zero Trust can be used to secure both web and mobile applications, providing a unified security solution that can be used to protect all types of applications and services.
Self-service portal
Cloudflare Zero Trust includes a self-service portal that allows users to manage their own access, reset their own passwords, and perform other tasks without the need for IT assistance, helping to improve user productivity and reduce IT overhead.
Secure remote access
The platform can be used to secure remote access to an organisation's network and resources, providing secure access to employees, partners, and customers who are working remotely.Management console
Cloudflare Zero Trust provides a centralised management console that allows IT administrators to manage security policies and settings for all users and devices, helping to simplify security management and improve efficiency.
IoT security
It can be used to secure Internet of Things (IoT) devices and connected systems, providing a unified security solution that can be used to protect all types of devices and systems.
Scalable architecture
Cloudflare Zero Trust provides a flexible and scalable architecture that can adapt to the changing needs of an organisation, making it a suitable security solution for organisations of all sizes and types.
Cloudflare Zero Trust is a comprehensive security platform that offers many features and benefits beyond what I've listed. It's worth noting that the exact features and benefits offered by Cloudflare Zero Trust may vary depending on the specific implementation and configuration of the platform.
CDS is an Authorised Service Delivery Partner to Cloudflare, and we would be delighted to answer any questions you may have about Zero Trust.
Zero Trust in action
CDS presented with Cloudflare at the 19th Annual Government ICT Conference in the QEII Conference Centre in London on 31st January 2023. We shared our experience of working together to deliver a successful Zero Trust implementation for a UK Government agency and the simple but practical steps we took to achieve it. The event was attended by over 450 ICT, Technology and Transformation leaders and buyers from across the public sector, as well as influential policymakers. We plan to release a follow-up video capturing key points in the coming weeks, so please stay tuned. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please fill out the form below.