Achieving a Zero Risk Application Landscape

With the continuous evolution of technology solutions, it has become crucial for organizations to develop effective methodologies for granting access to resources, which is the core of a solid cybersecurity program. Cybercriminals are always hunting for human resources and financial data, so companies need to take a proactive approach to eliminate access risk in the earliest stages of cybersecurity and GRC planning. This includes analyzing access risk, provisioning new users, establishing visibility around control effectiveness, and ensuring an efficient strategy for detecting and fixing vulnerabilities in application configurations. Risk is inherent in all these stages, so organizations must work towards developing a comprehensive risk management strategy that addresses risk in a cross-functional manner—introducing Zero Risk.

What is Zero Risk?

Ultimately, a Zero Risk methodology transcends a reactive approach to security by proactively establishing a multi-layered foundation for secure application access. This foundation allows organizations to embrace new technologies and adapt to evolving threats with confidence, safeguarding sensitive data and enabling business growth in a dynamic digital landscape. Plus, by employing solutions that enable granular control and continuous visibility over data and transaction usage, organizations using a Zero Risk strategy will have a more scalable journey toward aligning to evolving security best practices and frameworks like NIST and COSO.

Zero Risk vs. Zero Trust

Much has been made about a similar-sounding but substantially different approach called Zero Trust. While it has been said that Zero Trust is a journey rather than a destination, therein lies the problem. It takes a significant amount of time, effort, and cost to implement a Zero Trust strategy. Few have been able to define a clear Zero Trust strategy and roadmap with the ability to prioritize investments based on risk assessments. It also requires buy-in from employees because, in many instances, Zero Trust puts more ownness on the employees to change the way they work, which can lead to friction and unauthorized workarounds.

The main difference between Zero Risk and Zero Trust lies in the cross-functional nature of Zero Risk. Encompassing elements of IT Operations, Cybersecurity, Audit, Risk, and Compliance – the point of Zero Risk is to use a unified platform that eliminates control and visibility silos while aligning multiple functions toward a single, common goal. The goal is to systematically eliminate external and internally driven risks across the business.

Deploying a Zero Risk Strategy

A robust and effective Zero Risk application landscape is best deployed through a proactive, preventative approach to security that is grounded in a layered defense strategy. This multifaceted approach includes:

• Application Access Risk Analysis (SOD)
• Compliant Provisioning
• Elevated Access Management
• Automation for Executing Access Certifications
• Master Data Security
• Configuration Vulnerability Management
• Transaction Monitoring and Risk Quantification

Additionally, proactively identifying and patching vulnerabilities in systems and applications before they can be attacked, combined with threat detection and response to identify and neutralize risk in real time, adds to the layered nature of defense of a Zero Risk strategy.    

Pathlock Brings a Zero Risk Application Landscape to Life

Imagine a command center supported by intuitive dashboards, insightful analytics, and comprehensive reporting. Pathlock delivers these elements, infused throughout our platform, to help paint a real-time picture of your application access landscape. Gone are the days of manual (i.e., spreadsheet-based) governance processes and siloed insights – instead, Pathlock arms your organization with granular details on user activity, anomalous behavior, and potential vulnerabilities that all converge into actionable intelligence.

Ready to start your journey to a Zero Risk application landscape? Contact us today for a personalized demo.