AFCEA Augusta-Fort Gordon Chapter Course 3: Zero Trust Powered by Isolation - Protecting the Warfighter

Description

Government guidance on Zero Trust Security Architecture is gaining momentum, but changes in how we work (remote teleworking) and evolving cyber threats HEATing up will continue to impact Zero Trust guidance.  Today’s threat landscape means that private and public
sector organizations can no longer rely on their users or on detection-based security tools to protect their users, critical data, and systems from attacks.
 
Browser Isolation gives security teams the visibility and control they need to enable a Zero Trust approach to protecting against web-borne threats.
 
To capitalize on the growing threat landscape, threat actors are targeting web browsers with Highly Evasive Adaptive Threats (HEAT).  These HEAT attacks bypass traditional security defenses and leverage the standard capabilities of modern web browsers to deliver things like ransomware, compromised credentials, and various malware.  
 
Rather than trying to identify threats as malware after they've breached the perimeter, web isolation works by routing all web traffic through a cloud based remote browser before delivering only safe content to the endpoint. It doesn’t matter if the web content is good or bad, categorized or uncategorized.  This approach supports Zero Trust principles by assuming that all content is malicious and treating it accordingly.  This guarantees that no web-borne threat ever reaches the end user, enabling them to navigate the web
more freely, securely, and seamlessly.
 
Top Three Browser Isolation Points:
 
1. Browser Isolation removes the weakest link in security.
---------------
a. The weakest link in security is the human. Period.
b. Isolation removes that weakest link - no matter where they navigate to on
the web.
c. User accidentally clicks on that bad link or navigates to a compromised website - no factor with isolation. The user is protected no matter where they go on the web.
 
2. Browser Isolation is essential in a Zero Trust World.
---------------
a. Typical security tooling relies on a ‘detect & respond’ approach to security. With this approach, security tools evaluate content and attempt to identify and stop threats in real-time. In other words, these security tools are first trusting the data, then try to determine if a threat exists. This approach is flawed and ineffective in today’s threat landscape, not to
mention, completely contrary to Zero Trust.
b. Isolation treats ALL content as malicious, thereby eliminating all web-borne threats. The end user receives a safe, sanitized version of the web content. This approach to web security is effective and is essential to Zero Trust.
c. Isolation guarantees that end users will not be exposed to web-borne threats. This allows organizations to be less restrictive with their web policies, enabling their workforce to navigate the web more freely.
 
3. Browser Isolation is a workforce enabler.

---------------
a. Isolation provides a direct-to-internet architecture. Mitigating the need to backhaul internet traffic over legacy VPN, MPLS, or other similar transport links. Isolation must provide a native and transparent user experience.
b. Isolation should be browser agnostic, no change to a user’s normal browsing behavior.
c. Isolation needs to enable organizations and their workforce to freely navigate the web without fear of threats or compromise. They no longer must worry about the unknowns...such as threats in “good” sites or uncategorized/gray area sites.
d. Isolation should deliver and renders a website via a single line of code vs hundreds or thousands, that results in faster web performance.

Tracks:

• 
  Continuing Education
• 
  Greater Augusta Chapter Courses