Why Zero Trust Model will replace VPN

Janifha Evangeline | Sunday, 05 March 2023, 21:06 IST

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With up to forty per cent of Gen Z employees who are planning to take “workcations” by fulfilling their workplace responsibilities remotely from anywhere in the world, organizations are working to make sure they can keep the data of their employees secure wherever they travel.

Employers today understand that it is highly essential for employees to provide both productivity & security by rendering secure access to networks when the employees are either out of office or even out of the country. In the past years, virtual private networks or VPNs have gained huge popularity as a cost-effective solution to remote network security concerns. However, as the workforce requires you to continue to transform rapidly, VPNs are being unable to catch up.

Therefore, this is the perfect time for organizations for re-evaluating their commitment to VPNs & consider upgrading to a more scalable as well as secure alternative And the good news is there is a simple solution which can either be put in place or ever run alongside VPNs:  - these are ‘the zero trust security framework’.

VPN versus Zero Trust model

How a traditional VPN works is by establishing a perimeter around assets in a network. In turn, VPNs operate within the network instead of protecting the network itself & only the users who possess access to the VPN are able to interact with anything that is inside the perimeter. This limited access to the entry point acts as the prime security measure, while traditional virtual private networks assume by design that anything which passes via the established boundaries can be trusted.

The Zero trust approach works exact opposite to how the VPN model works. Rather than establishing a small perimeter inside the network, zero trust safeguards the whole network’s security – &, to be more specific, the information assets within it are individually verifies every user as well as device prior to rendering access to a given application.

Gone are the days of – “staying inside the network, means it can be trusted.” With zero trust, every aspect is based on identity. Only post a user is authenticated, they gain access to applications, content or even systems & even then, their identity is continuously authorized for checking for either unusual behavior or even attributes. Every user’s level of access as well as the actions they are allowed to perform, is both defined & enforced as per the organizational policy.

Why are VPNs not sustainable

Although in the past the perimeter-based network security was a viable solution, it is been clear for numerous years that this approach will not keep up with the modern workforce trends – & the pandemic only augmented this reality.

At present, remote work is at an all-time high, global connectivity that is predicted & the number of networks as well as connections which cyberattacks are eager & ready to take advantage of has exploded. However, at the same time, attacks are becoming highly sophisticated as well as difficult to eliminate which is another reason for implementing strong authentication as well as identity-based access controls such as zero trust.

While diversifying the various types of devices as well as applications organizations use, VPNs are already proving that they are unable to meet either the demand or security needs since employees explore numerous alternative work-from-home locations. With this in mind, here are 3 most common VPN-related challenges that a zero-trust approach can alleviate. These include:

Limited scope: When it comes down to it, Virtual Private Networks are inherently insecure. They group all users into a single system & if any attacker gains access the whole system is compromised. But with zero trust, by contrast, even trusted identities as well as devices do not get the full network access. Furthermore, strong authentication as well as continuous authorization make attackers who would breach the system from accessing the most sensitive assets.

Slow performance: Virtual Private Networks’ performance can lag, particularly when looking for access from remote locations. This is because Virtual Private Networks work by routing all traffic via a data center to then by decrypted. However, ultimately this process can take more time & lead to slow-moving protection. Since zero trust is primarily cloud-based, connections are quick & efficient.

Inefficiency: Connecting via a Virtual Private Networks is not just bulky but resource-intensive process as well. Updating Virtual Private Networks, patching them as well as scaling are all processes which need significant IT manpower as well as budgets. But, zero trust’s scaling process can be enabled as well as managed automatically via a web-based user interface; & IT teams can easily adjust security as well as authorization policies on the basis of real-time requirements.

How to replace VPN with Zero Trust Strategy

Organizations that are looking to stay ahead of their employees’ ever-changing demands should take a step beyond VPNs for ensuring more comprehensive security. And, whoever cannot keep up with their employees’ change in work habits will become highly vulnerable & under-protective.

While Virtual Private Networks offer a level of connectivity, zero trust is particularly designed for meeting the modern needs for visibility as well as control & critical business demands that include remote work, speed, performance, security etc. If businesses are looking to protect themselves moving ahead, integrating a zero-trust approach into their security strategy will be highly crucial.

 

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