Zero-trust is the increasingly popular security model that adopts the principle of “never trust, always verify.” It undertakes strict verification of identity, context, and policy adherence every time a user or an app accesses the network. The rulebook verifies identity, device health, and or application integrity before granting access. The system regards all connection attempts as unauthorised until proven otherwise.

The cloud and remote access have made the network edge redundant. With it, the conventional castle-and-moat approach, or perimeter-based protection has also become obsolete. The Zero-Trust approach is best poised to take over. But concerns about costs remain.

Implementing Zero-trust attracts upfront expenses. The ballpark initial investment for an average organisation can range between US $50,000 and US $250,000. The figure, however, depends on the size, resources, and existing infrastructure.

In today’s tough business conditions, cash flow struggles and profits are a live concern for most businesses. In such a context, the C-suite will invariably have second thoughts regarding a security upgrade. They ponder over whether Zero-trust frameworks bring enough benefits over the status-quo security arrangements to make the investment viable.

Evidence suggests that the organisation can recoup the investment fast. The benefits from Zero-trust outweigh the costs. The benefits realise in the following ways:

Lower Infrastructure Costs

Traditional security apparatuses such as VPNs and firewalls have become untenable. At some point, organisations will have no option but to upgrade their network security.

If the organisation does not implement Zero-trust architecture, it mostly ends up with a complex set of disjointed point products. The infrastructure costs for such piecemeal products quickly add up. Such a setup also incurs huge management overheads. The complex nature of the setup results in productivity loss among the IT staff, further increasing costs.  

A scalable cloud-based Zero-trust framework optimises costs. Consolidated point products reduce infrastructure costs. Policy-based controls simplify security administration, further reducing costs.  

A Limit to Damages

Adopting Zero-trust reduces risks related to security incidents and breaches. 

The average cost of a data breach in 2024 is USD 4.88 million. These costs include system downtime, fines, remediation costs, and the costs of customer churn. Zero-trust helps enterprises avoid such backbreaking costs and reduce their security budgets.

The Zero-trust approach micro-segments the networks to restrict access. The user, device or app gets access only to the specific segment they need to get work done. If they need access to another segment, they must go through another authentication round. Such restricted lateral movements limit any potential breach to a specific segment. The attack surface reduces and the damage remains limited.

The IMB Cost of Data Breach Report 2024 estimates that 40% of data breaches involve data stored across multiple environments. Segmenting networks and continuous authentication localise the breach and limit the damage. The localised nature of the threat reduces the potential costs. 

The Security Playbook Becomes More Efficient

Zero-trust improves security operations efficiency.

A core principle of Zero-trust is continuous network monitoring. The system continuously verifies the security posture of devices, users, and applications to detect threats. Such continuous monitoring enables prompt incident or threat response.

Quick detection and response limit the damage of any breach. It minimises the data the attackers can exfiltrate. The costs associated with data recovery come down, as do legal liabilities. 

Today, continuous monitoring is viable only with automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Any manual step in the process causes delays and potential errors. Such delays and inaccuracies disrupt workflows, leading to big damages and lost opportunities. For instance, reporting a breach to a higher-up and getting their approval for a countermeasure is suicidal. Threat actors launch sophisticated attacks that need only seconds to gain a foothold and do the damage.

Automated policies and AI-augmented orchestration make threat identification accurate and improve response time. It streamlines access, saves time, and ensures optimal resource use.

Automated policies for user authentication and authorisation make the process efficient. It ensures smoother user access with reduced friction.

The AI tool uses telemetry data from user behaviour, devices, and applications to detect anomaly patterns. Automating incident response enables better resource allocation, reducing incident management costs.

The automated system also alleviates the skill shortage. Even interns and junior employees on night shifts can make smarter and faster decisions.

Automation requires sizable upfront costs. A major chunk of Zero-trust implementation costs is for automation. But organisations recoup the costs through improved efficiency, accuracy, and reduced labour expenses.

IBM Cost of Data Breach Report 2024 estimates the average cost savings of organisations that use security AI and automation at USD 2.22 million.

Compliance Become Simple and Easy

Compliance has become a big burden for most enterprises. Many enterprises pay hefty fines for non-compliance and breaches.  

Zero-trust simplifies compliance. The approach provides a strong foundation to meet regulatory obligations. In fact, the Zero-trust requirements exceed many regulatory requirements.

Strict access controls and continuous monitoring are fundamental to zero trust. These same elements also meet the requirements of many compliance frameworks.

For instance, Zero-trust ensures strict access controls, continuous verification, and restricted data exposure. These principles align with GDPR’s data minimisation principle.

Improved compliance with regulations and data protection laws reduces the risk of fines. It also minimises legal expenses and insurance costs.

Many enterprises underestimate the impact of a security incident and how important it is to implement robust security measures such as Zero-trust architecture. Revenue loss due to disruptions resulting from a security incident can crush a business. Degraded customer reputation and loss of trust result in long-term revenue loss.

Almost eight out of ten organisations implementing Zero-trust derive at least one security and business benefit. The security benefits include fewer risks, improved efficiency, and simpler compliance. The business benefits include lower and localised downtime, improved adaptiveness, and better agility. Employee productivity and user trust also increase. 

Sustained benefits depend on a robust security platform such as Cloudflare. Clouflare’s Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) makes adopting Zero-trust easy. The platform verifies user identity, device posture, and application context, regardless of location. Users get fast and easy access without trade-offs, making sure security does not stand in the way of efficiency. They can access the network from anywhere, using any device, and still get the same consistent security without the enterprise spending any additional costs.