Cyber threats are growing more sophisticated, frequent, and damaging, with the average cost of a data breach now reaching $4.24 million, according to IBM’s 2021 report. Clearly, organizations need more robust cybersecurity protections in place, which is leading many to adopt a zero-trust architecture approach. 

Zero-trust flips conventional security on its head by shifting from an implicit trust model to one where verification is required every step of the way. No users, devices, or workloads are inherently trusted — authentication and authorization are rigorously enforced at all times. This assumes that breaches will occur and limits lateral movement and access once threat actors break through the external perimeter.