A recent article by global media company Forbes questions what we can do to bring security up to date with the challenges inherent in today’s IT environment.

It mentions the notion of “zero trust”, a term that’s used a lot in discussions about “the answer to today’s security problems”. Zero trust is a security concept that requires all users, i.e. those in- and outside an organisation’s network, to be authenticated, authorised, and continuously validating security configuration, before being granted or keeping access to the organisation’s data and applications.

It implies that nothing is inherently secure and that all aspects of an IT system are a potential source of compromise. So, in theory, if you secure all the business data and machinery you own as well as every app and business service you use, you’ll be protected from cyber crime.

But it’s not that easy. Recents stats show just how hard it is to achieve the zero trust model, even for big businesses with ample resources available to them:

60% of organisations have discovered gaps in their security as a result of work-from-home setups
42% of cyber attacks were the result of bugs in app software
56% of large organisations receive more than 1000 security alerts daily
80% of data breaches originated from a third party
29% of organisations have no visibility of third party partners’ security

When you’re at the mercy of things you can’t control, it’s clearly nearly impossible to achieve a zero trust approach.

Controlling the controllables

It is possible to manage the things that can be controlled, by using dedicated IT management platforms that automate your backup, take care of your cyber security and assure you of business continuity.

Together, such platforms give you visibility of all your equipment, services and software both on-premise and in the cloud. This will include the end-points of your employees, and the points of connection for your customers and partners.

Once your IT management platforms are in place, it’s down to absolute vigilance in proactively:
• Training employees in cyber security and risk mitigation
• Assessing risks and responding immediately to alerts put out by your management platforms
• Conducting thorough due diligence ahead of mergers and acquisitions
• Testing your security controls more often than you think
• Recognising that good technology can be used against you

As Forbes says: “Conditions are always changing, and threats are always evolving. We must evolve as well.”

If your backup and cyber security is lagging behind with old technology, check out our evolved IT management platforms.