You’ve probably heard of a computer network that looks like a castle, complete with high walls, a single front entrance, and a moat. However, as we all know, this is an insecure method of securing current IT systems. An organization’s network today resembles a vast, contemporary metropolis with multiple ports of entry, thanks to thousands of access points, the presence of third-party suppliers, and a steady stream of workers and contractors coming and quitting firms. And safeguarding that metropolis need a modern security strategy.

How can businesses make the transition from perimeter-based cybersecurity to the dynamic solutions necessary to satisfy the complex, ever-changing demands of today’s businesses? Organizations must be nimble and learn to pivot quickly to be safe due to the increase of the attack surface, which has been hastened in part by the epidemic. In this blog article, we’ll look at some of the most important IT security trends, as well as techniques and resources you may use to protect your “city” from possible dangers.

Zero Trust and Remote Work

With the continuous adoption of COVID-19 and reduced investment in on-premise infrastructure, the remote worker will remain the emphasis in 2022. Organizations want to make sure their employees have secure access to the tools and data they need to do their jobs. As a result, cloud platforms and as-a-service usage are on the rise, with enterprises focusing on security to meet their risk tolerance. As a result, they’ve resorted to zero-trust security. You may develop a solution to assist you to avoid hazards associated with remote work and the cloud while securing your assets using a zero-trust approach.

Though zero trust designs differ, they all follow three NIST principles:

• Explicit and continuous verification: Identification and permission should be applied before access and controlled by dynamic policy based on behavioral and environmental factors before and throughout a session.
• Least privileged access: Provide access to IT resources on a session-by-session basis, with just-enough-access controls in place to reduce risk while not impeding productivity. The emergence of privileged access management is justified by access micro-segmentation being an inherent feature of the architectural approach to prevent lateral movement threats (PAM). You can block unwanted access, revoke privileges as required, and manage remote access effectively using this method.
• Minimize blast radius: Segmentation zones, which extend the rule of least privilege to the network and hosts by defining security zones, can reduce lateral movement and shrink the attack surface to contain the blast radius of a breach by minimizing unwanted access to sensitive apps and data, reducing lateral movement, and shrinking the attack surface. In an ideal scenario, a business would encrypt all traffic from start to finish while maintaining visibility into all resources, networks, and communications to improve threat detection and response. This is frequently a source of controversy, but it may also create visibility issues.

The criteria and pillars of zero trust, as well as Citrix’s approach to zero trust architecture, are covered in this Citrix essay, which emphasizes a move from a perimeter-security concept to one that is resource-based and employs an integrated, VPN-less framework. Citrix Workspace is uniquely prepared to support a unified stack based on zero trust, and Citrix Secure Private Access and Citrix Secure Internet Access allow you to grant users access to all IT resources (VDI, SaaS, web, internet, and more) while complying to the zero trust principles outlined above.

Extending Zero Trust Network Principles with Cybersecurity Mesh

Traditional network perimeters are significantly less effective when firm resources may be accessible outside your organization’s walls, and your users are no longer working just from inside your buildings. Because today’s networks are characterized by individuals and devices rather than physical borders, you’ll need to rethink your strategy.

Instead of trusting by default, zero trust is a security approach that constantly validates endpoints and users. We may extend zero-trust principles to justify the expense by integrating security technologies into a cooperative ecosystem utilizing a composable and scalable cybersecurity mesh. Vendor consolidation of fundamental components to cloud services, such as adaptive access, content management, security configuration, and more, lowers costs and makes adoption of this strong architecture more appealing. Individual perimeters allow you to control all access points through a single point of authority, allowing you to give and track different levels of access to any section of the network. It streamlines your processes and allows IT to focus on business goals.

Users require safe access to apps, data, and content from a range of devices now that anyplace is the new workplace. Citrix Workspace and Citrix Secure Private Access take a user-centric approach to business asset protection. Your workers receive a platform that enables them to perform their best job, wherever they are and on whatever device they’re using, while you get a suite of cloud technologies that give strategic rules and enforcement for risk reduction.

The Threat of Ransomware is Growing

The unpleasant reality of ransomware is that it pays off for attackers. Experts anticipate that in 2022, more ransomware assaults (and more sophisticated attacks) will occur, with more than 80% of US firms experiencing such attacks in 2021. With the emergence of ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) and access-as-a-service (AaaS) on the horizon, businesses cannot afford to be complacent.

We go over how to safeguard your company from ransomware in this white paper. Access control (MFA, least privilege principles); secure mobility (remote browser isolation, hardened email clients); risk management (frequent patching, educating, and testing employees, along with vulnerability assessments and regular pen testing); and business continuity (enterprise data sync and sharing services, robust backups) are all technologies that can help avoid infractions and keep data available even during an attack.

Keeping Your Supply Chain Secure

As businesses spend more in diversifying their development through supply chain procedures, the potential for increased security risk for all parties involved grows. The supply chain approach is fantastic for quick development, but it also has drawbacks that are easy to miss when there are several providers involved. Because a hostile actor may only need to target a single weak link in your supply chain, you must constantly examine the robustness of your vendors’ solutions. “Do the vendors with whom I deal offer frequent feedback on assessments that support a healthy security posture for all parties involved?” is a crucial question to ask.

When you delve a little further, each phase of the supply chain lifecycle (design; deployment and production; distribution; acquisition and deployment; maintenance; and disposal) has its own set of risks. The following are some examples of supply chain attacks:

• Tools for developing software that is compromised
• Updates on hijacking
• Code signing is being undermined.
• Code that has been compromised and put into hardware and/or firmware
• Malware is pre-installed on devices.

NIST recommends building a C-SCRM (Cyber Supply Chain Risk Management) methodology to assist avoid such assaults on your supply chain lifecycle. One that covers the entire organization and employs both technical and non-technical methods. The following are the key practices, according to NIST:

• C-SCRM should be implemented throughout the organization.
• Formalize the C-SCRM software.
• Understand and manage important components and vendors.
• Recognize the company’s supplier network.
• Collaborate closely with important suppliers
• Participate in resilience and improvement actions with important suppliers.
• Throughout the supplier relationship, assess and monitor.
• Plan for the whole lifespan of your product.

Following these guidelines can aid in the prevention and mitigation of software supply chain vulnerabilities and attacks.

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