How to Align Your IT and Security Teams for Zero Trust Success
With hackers, phishers, and AI-powered cybercriminals more ubiquitous and confident than ever before, in-house cybersecurity teams are finding themselves stretched thin.
Stopping breaches can feel like a game of Whac-A-Mole, and security teams are scrambling to keep up – losing time, data, and money in the process. That’s why it’s so important to implement a zero trust protocol in your business: so that breaches are stopped before they begin.
But a good cybersecurity team can’t handle the implementation of zero trust all alone, and for that reason, it’s vital for the cybersecurity personnel and the IT department to work hand in hand.
What’s the best way to create collaboration and divide responsibilities between these two teams? From the outside, they might seem similar, but professionals know these departments have different scopes and can often find it difficult to work together seamlessly.
Below, we’ll outline some strategies for collaboration in a zero trust environment, and how cybersecurity teams and IT teams can present a united front against attacks.
What’s at Risk without Zero Trust?
Cyberattacks occur every 39 seconds, and the average data breach costs more than $4 million. Needless to say, it’s important to protect your data. Beyond keeping your business operating without interruption, it’s just as valuable to protect the trust of your clients and customers.
Human error is one of the leading causes of data breaches, and without a collaborative environment, problems might not be caught or remedied until it’s too late.
Zero trust is one of the strongest security frameworks to mitigate today’s cybersecurity risks, from operating in complex remote/hybrid environments to quickly evolving AI cyberthreats.
It’s unfortunately common for companies to think they’re operating in a zero trust environment, but without a full understanding of their assets and protections. Without that knowledge, users (and hackers) might still be able to gain access to internal tools and data without continuous verification.
Collaboration is Essential to Implement Zero Trust
To start, any organization looking to implement zero trust needs a thorough understanding of how every user interacts with every data asset and system – something that the IT team is best equipped to provide.
Once all the assets have been identified, the cybersecurity team can begin prioritizing those that need the most protection, such as intellectual property or financial records, and establish a strong zero trust architecture and protocols.
Think of your system like a museum full of very valuable art. Your IT and cybersecurity teams are the security guards, and a lack of collaboration is like leaving your museum’s security team without walkie-talkies. If the guys watching the CCTV can’t speak with the guards on the floor, art thieves can still evade them and sneak through.
Implement Zero Trust: Areas of Collaboration
Collaborating effectively in a world of rapidly evolving technology is more challenging than ever – but don’t let that stop you from securing your business.
Specifically, focus on the following areas to ensure your company is aligning your IT and cybersecurity teams to build an effective zero trust security posture.
Communication
It’s important that key stakeholders from both IT and cybersecurity are in regular communication and feel comfortable speaking up when something feels amiss. This saves time, energy, and makes implementation easier by keeping everyone on the same page.
Cybersecurity can be a high-stakes field. Often when facing workplace challenges, employees may feel their needs and requests aren’t always fulfilled, when in reality they are simply not being heard.
Keep communication open so that resentments and frustrations never build and boil over. This will help reduce human errors and miscommunications, which you can’t afford to make in a zero trust environment.
Integrated Systems
Zero trust architecture is best built from the ground up, and best monitored when both the cybersecurity and IT teams know their digital infrastructure inside and out.
That’s why it’s so important for teams to use compatible software and hardware, including both external and internal tools like ticketing systems, project management tools, and zero trust network access (ZTNA).
Operating in an integrated environment helps cybersecurity and IT teams to stay aware of each other’s work, stay focused on projects that are collaborative, and jump in to help easily if needed.
Continuous Education
Gaps in knowledge create gaps in your organization’s security. Ensure regular meetings or training sessions so that everyone is fully educated on the latest pertinent security information.
The world of cybersecurity is constantly evolving, so it’s vital that stakeholders from both teams are up-to-date on the latest trends, concepts, and tools. For example, AI is revolutionizing the way attackers will approach your company, and it’s only by staying informed on AI tactics that you can remain a step ahead.
This also applies to things as simple as software updates and regulations. You never want to be in a situation where the IT team thinks you’re using one framework while cybersecurity has already upgraded to a newer version and forgot to mention it – or vice versa.
Automation
When IT teams are bogged down by employee-related software tasks or other problems, it’s hard for them to make time for the kind of collaboration with cybersecurity that’s necessary for zero trust architecture to function smoothly.
Automation can ease some of the busy workload many IT and cybersecurity teams face in a digital-first workforce, freeing up time to focus on ensuring systems are verifying users at every step. They’ll have more time available to jump in and fix it if a true breach occurs.
Zero Trust Starts Here
Zero trust is highly effective at providing contextual access and protecting your business. But implementing it at scale takes careful coordination, collaboration, and strategy.
Before you jump in and start building zero trust into your business, it’s essential that you have a good understanding of all the problems in your security posture first. That way, you’ll adopt the right solutions.
We encourage you to get in touch with our team at R3 IT for a free security audit. We’ll find any and all the problems you need to address, and we’ll advise you on the best next steps, zero trust or otherwise.
