Zero-Trust: Everything You Need to Know

According to the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), supply chain cyberattacks in 2021 are on track to quadruple the number of attacks that occurred the previous year. Faced with this rapidly growing threat, many companies are struggling for solutions to keep their supply chains secure. One such solution that offers a lot of promise, though, is a zero-trust approach to supply chain cybersecurity.

A zero-trust cybersecurity approach entails requiring thorough verification for all user accounts, applications, and assets that will be accessing the company’s systems. Rather than assuming that a partner and its products are secure, zero-trust cybersecurity requires authentication before access is granted to any user or third-party application.

During Cyber Polygon 2021, cybersecurity experts conducted training exercises that lead to the three insightful conclusions regarding zero-trust cybersecurity. The first of these conclusions was that a zero-trust approach to cybersecurity is able to help companies minimize the risks associated with working with vendors who do not pay adequate attention to cybersecurity. The second of these conclusions was that zero-trust cybersecurity is able to help reduce the risk associated with working with vendors who place too much trust in other third parties. Lastly, experts at Cyber Polygon 2021 concluded that zero-trust cybersecurity is able to help companies detect when they are contacted by a cybercriminal who is posing as one of the company’s vendors.

By helping companies minimize these three serious supply chain risks, zero-trust cybersecurity is something that offers a wealth of protection in these times when threats against supply chains only continue to grow. By allowing companies to verify every person or application that has access to their systems, zero-trust cybersecurity has the potential to help dramatically reduce the number of companies that fall victim to cybercrime.