The Protection and Productivity of Zero Trust

Over the last nearly 100 episodes of Security Breach we’ve discussed a wide range of strategies for protecting the manufacturing enterprise. But perhaps the most polarizing of these has been Zero Trust. While some unwaveringly champion the cause of this approach, others question the ways in which it is typically deployed. Perhaps this dichotomy is best represented in Palo Alto and ABI Research’s The State of OT Security report. It found that 93 percent of those surveyed were familiar with Zero Trust, and 87 percent found the approach to be the right fit for protecting OT environments. However, half of those participating in the research also stated that there are practical blockers that prohibit implementation. In the end, like most things in the cybersecurity world, the answer lies in striking a balance between restricting access and implementing safeguards against time-consuming processes. In this episode I talk to Roman Arutyunov, Co-founder and SVP of product at Xage Security, about zero trust and a number of other topics, including:How cybersecurity needs to be viewed as both a productivity and protection tool.Overcoming the "it won't happen to me" mindset.The sector's over-reliance on VPNs and firewalls.Why manufacturing is missing regulatory guidance, and why that will change in the short-term.Improving responses to attacks, including ransomware..How AI can play a key role in shrinking the attack surface.Avoiding tool implementations that can be an "inverse pyramid of pain."To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast. And if you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at jeff@ien.com.To download our latest report on industrial cybersecurity, The Industrial Sector’s New Battlefield, click here.