Zero Trust for Small and Medium Businesses
As cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated, the traditional "castle-and-moat" approach to security—where everything inside the network is implicitly trusted—no longer provides sufficient protection. That's why Zero Trust has emerged as a practical framework for organizations of every size.
At NorWest Cybersecurity, we help small and medium businesses adopt a confident, fit-for-purpose Zero Trust solution.
Here's what you need to know:
What Is Zero Trust?
Zero Trust isn't a product or a buzzword—it's a principle. It revolves around the notion that you shouldn't automatically trust anything inside or outside your network. Instead, verify every request as though it originates from an untrusted source. The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines it as a set of guiding principles that continuously assess trust in digital interactions based on data, identity, and context.
Don't Trust - Authenticate
Traditionally, networks trust any internal IP addresses and allow access based on that source. Zero Trust instead requires authentication, no matter where the access originates. Before granting requestors any privileges, you verify:
- Authentication: Confirming "you are who you claim to be" (for example, with multi-factor authentication).
- Authorization: Enforcing "you have permission to do that" (for example, role-based access policies).
By making identity central, you reduce the risk of compromised devices roaming freely once inside your perimeter.
Protect Every Asset Individually
Rather than treating your network as a single, large trust zone, Zero Trust breaks it down into micro-perimeters around each resource—servers, applications, data stores, and even individual services. Every resource has a policy governing who can connect and what they can do. If an attacker slips through, they don't automatically have access to your entire environment.
East-West Segmentation
In many breaches, attackers gain a foothold on one server and then move laterally to other systems. Zero Trust stops that by segmenting internal traffic:
- Only services and users that truly need to communicate are allowed.
- Each connection is evaluated on its own merits rather than being assumed safe simply because it originates within.
This containment makes it far more challenging for malicious actors to explore your network or steal sensitive data.
Encrypt Everything in Transit
Reduce the impact of Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks by encrypting all traffic to, from, and within your networks. Unlike a traditional VPN which only encrypts the traffic between the user and the gateway, Zero Trust encrypts the traffic all the way between the user and the service. That way, even if traffic is intercepted, it remains unreadable.
Zero Trust frameworks can utilize mutual TLS (mTLS) or other authentication schemes to ensure both sides verify their identity, thereby preventing impersonation attacks.
Building Your Zero Trust Roadmap
Zero Trust might sound daunting, but building it early in your business growth will set you up for future cybersecurity success. With expert guidance from NorWest Cybersecurity, you'll arrive at a Zero Trust posture that fits your needs—and protects you from today's threats.
Ready to take the next step? Be confident with your cybersecurity posture with a Zero Trust solution that matches your business.
Contact us to get started.
