How Can Companies And Individuals Best Protect Themselves Against Cybercrime?
Here’s the thing – if a data breach has occurred, it’s already too late. Data breaches typically cost a company several million dollars, not to mention immeasurable (often irreversible) damage to their reputation. In a recent study, one-third of customers that were notified of a vendor breach said they would no longer do business with that company. With cybersecurity, the best medicine is preventative – companies need to protect against cybercrime and data breaches before they happen.
Traditional security approaches such as firewalls try to create a secure area. But that doesn’t work in a modern setting because of the adoption of cloud software and mobile access, as well as the sophistication of hackers. That means you need to adopt an approach that recognizes the importance of your data everywhere.
Today, cybersecurity is a $125 billion industry, but data breaches are showing no signs of stopping. There’s a very palpable need for a new way to approach cybersecurity strategy.
In our view, that approach is Zero Trust security. Zero Trust is basically a set of lenses to evaluate each and every user, verify who they are, see what data they want to access and what security state they’re in. You have to limit that access in a way that minimizes the exposure and attack surface, vastly reducing opportunities for bad actors to operate in.
Zero Trust operates on three core premises to achieve maximum security: 1) Verify every user. 2) Validate every device. And 3) Intelligently limit access based on users’ specific needs.
Cybersecurity training and awareness alone aren’t enough, it only takes one weak link to compromise access. Companies have to operate on the assumption that their security layers can always be breached at any given time. Zero Trust embodies this approach – it’s constantly one step ahead, and operating as if every entry point is a threat, constantly limiting access to address that concern, while also not overly burdening users with unnecessary authentication.
According to IDG, Zero Trust is the most researched cybersecurity trend, more than biometric data, and more than blockchain (if you can believe that!). We’re excited to see it catching on, and we’ll continue to promote it as one of the best security postures a company can take today.
This post originally appeared in a Quora Q&A session hosted in May 2019. Our CEO Danny Kibel was asked to give his opinion on the state of cybersecurity, Zero Trust, working in the security field and entrepreneurship, among other things. For more of his answers visit Quora.
Danny Kibel
Danny Kibel is Chief Executive Officer at Idaptive, leading the overall strategy and vision for this newcomer to the identity and access management market. Under Danny’s direction, Idaptive is establishing its Next-Gen Access Cloud platform as the cornerstone of the Zero Trust approach to security, securing access for everyone, everywhere and on every device.
Prior to taking the helm at Idaptive, Danny was Vice President of Engineering & Operations at Centrify, where he led the development and delivery of the company’s cloud identity and mobility products.
With more than 20 years of experience designing, developing and delivering software, Danny has combined his deep technical background and strong business perspective to help create and deliver innovative products and solutions for enterprise software companies worldwide. Prior to his leadership roles at Idaptive and Centrify, he was a senior director at ServiceNow, leading several teams that automated and managed application releases in cloud environments. Before that, Danny was a senior software manager at Cisco for nearly eight years. Earlier in his career, he led the delivery and solutions team for a startup company that was later acquired by Cisco.
Danny graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem with a degree in computer science and later earned an MBA in marketing and technology management from Tel Aviv University.
CHAMELEON-LIKE SUPERPOWER
If Danny could have any chameleon-like superpower, it would be the chameleon's 360-degree vision. In the wild, the chameleon is faced with opportunities (a yummy grasshopper hanging about), as well as dangers (a snake lurking nearby, or a hawk flying up above), so having 360- degree vision helps the chameleon evolve while protecting it from predators. “Similarly, to run a successful business, one needs to have a wide perspective of the market, technology, opportunities and challenges.”