Debunking the Role of Identity within Zero Trust

What is the relationship between zero trust and user identity? There’s no doubt that identity is a fundamental component of an effective zero trust approach, but there is also a danger that organisations become so overly focused on this one element, they forget there are others.

To believe that achieving zero trust is all about user identity is, I believe, a fundamental misunderstanding of the concept. This misconception can lead to potential vulnerabilities that, in turn, can result in major cybersecurity events—the kind of events that the organisation was attempting to avoid by adopting zero trust in the first place. 

Identity matters, but it’s becoming increasingly unreliable 

Identity is indeed a fundamental factor of zero trust and, for many years, companies have used multi-factor authentication (MFA) to ensure their sensitive data is protected. However, the threat landscape is evolving and some experts now estimate that up to 70% of MFA options are as easy to breach with social engineering and phishing.

Outside of the cybersecurity world, we would not place our trust in someone based on one factor alone. Trust is a multifaceted process that must build up over time. Likewise, there must be multiple forms of verification in order for zero trust to be achieved. Oversimplifying the complexity of this process risks giving the false impression of safety, and opens the potential for a major cyber breach. 

Multiple security measures, a single point of control

Zero trust must start with the assumption that your system can and will be compromised. The more measures put in place to protect it, the more trust we can put into it. Crucially, a single Policy Enforcement Point (PEP) must be used to control the traffic of information flowing in from these different measures. 

Identity authentication is one of the first, and one of the most commonly used, measures for zero trust and should be a core part of any strategy. This includes things like decentralised identity, more advanced MFA frameworks and password-free biometric methods. However, it is not sufficient by itself .

Here are seven other elements businesses should build into their PEP to ensure a secure, robust zero trust infrastructure:

1. Device

It’s not just who you are, but what device you’re using. A fully authenticated user on a compromised device is still a security risk. Zero trust should differentiate corporate and personal devices, examine devic