Intelligent CISO Issue 35 | Page 41

EXPERT OPINION

The importance of collaboration on the Zero Trust journey

Although the new era of home working has brought many benefits , the downside is the rise in cyberthreats . In response to a recent Gigamon survey , more than half of respondents believed employee disengagement is the cause of the rise . Vijay Babber , Channel Manager at Gigamon Middle East , explains why a Zero Trust model is important in this era of remote working and how the ecosystem can work together to ensure the model is in place .
Vijay Babber , Channel Manager at Gigamon Middle East he IT threatscape

T has been completely transformed over the last 12 months . According to Gigamon ’ s recent survey , 85 % of organisations have seen a rise in cyberthreats since the beginning of last year , with issues ranging from phishing attacks to data breaches . The reason ? Over half of respondents believe that the new era of home working , resulting in significant employee disengagement , is the cause of such a rise in cybersecurity issues .

Of course , a key aim for organisations is to provide a positive customer experience , so it is essential that businesses acknowledge this increase in security concerns . The ecosystem needs to work together on this , from the vendor to the end-user , and in particular , channel partners should be prepared to support customers with their security challenges , acting as trusted advisors and sympathising with client pain points to offer bespoke services .
CISOs , CIOs and CEOs are all interested in a Zero Trust model , which is a good place to start . But what exactly is Zero Trust and why is it so important in this era of Digital Transformation and remote working ?
What is Zero Trust – and why is it important ?
It is necessary to understand that Zero Trust is neither a technology nor a set-up , but instead a mindset and an attitude towards security . It is a concept that requires every user , including internal members of an organisation , to be regularly authenticated . A Zero
Trust structure refuses to implicitly trust anyone , regardless of their credentials . It has typically been associated with negative connotations , stemming from the idea that ‘ no one is trusted ’, which can be thought to hamper employee productivity . However , opinions surrounding Zero Trust architecture have started to shift , especially as it allows IT leaders much more control in a time where networks are only getting more dispersed and complex .
From our data , Gigamon discovered that 76 % of IT decision-makers believe it is a good decision to engage with Zero Trust architecture in the current environment . The vast majority of those surveyed already had a high-awareness of Zero Trust , while over two-thirds of respondents stated that they have adopted , or are looking to adopt , this approach to security within their www . intelligentciso . com
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