Blog Post

TL;DR

Zero-trust isn’t a product. It’s a set of decisions: verify explicitly, least privilege, assume breach—implemented across identity, devices, network, apps, and data. Start small, ship improvements weekly, and measure impact (MTTD/MTTR, incident volume, access coverage, data uptime).

Why zero-trust (now)

• SaaS sprawl & remote work mean your perimeter is gone.
• Identity is the new control plane: attackers log in more than they break in.
• AI/automation increases blast radius when access is too broad.
• Regulators and customers expect evidence, not promises.

Principle: security must be invisible most of the time and predictable in a crisis.

The zero-trust foundations (plain English)

1. Identity & Access
2. SSO + MFA everywhere; role design; just-in-time admin; joiner/mover/leaver workflows.
3. Device & Network
4. Baseline hardening, EDR, patching, and segmentation. Treat the internal network as untrusted.
5. App & API Security
6. SAST/DAST on critical apps, API gateways, WAF/CDN rules, secrets management.
7. Data Security
8. Classify data; encrypt; mask/tokenise; DLP for exfil paths (email, storage, SaaS).
9. Detect & Respond
10. SIEM/SOAR with tuned alerts, a small set of playbooks, and on-call rotation.
11. Governance & Evidence
12. Policies, change logs, access reviews, compliance mapping (ISO/NIST/PDPL).

30-60-90: a pragmatic rollout

Days 1–30 —

Baseline & Quick Wins

• Enforce SSO + MFA on all core apps; remove dormant accounts.
• Implement least-privilege roles for BI/engineering/data.
• Turn on endpoint protection and OS patch posture.
• Classify sensitive data and encrypt at rest; restrict public links.
• Stand up alerting for failed logins, admin changes, and DLP violations.

Evidence: access coverage %, MFA coverage %, endpoints compliant %.

Days 31–60 —

Harden & Observe

• Segment network paths; add WAF/CDN rules and API keys rotation.
• Tune SIEM alerts to reduce noise; publish MTTD/MTTR as a visible metric.
• Add joiner/mover/leaver automation for accounts and access.
• Mask/tokenise sensitive fields in analytics; restrict raw data access.

Evidence: high-severity alerts per week ↓, MTTR ↓, data masking coverage ↑.

Days 61–90 —

Prove & Drill

• Run an incident tabletop (ransomware or credential theft scenario).
• Patch an end-to-end third-party risk workflow (intake → review → controls).
• Ship a small security automation (e.g., auto-isolate risky devices).
• Finalise runbooks and schedule quarterly access reviews.

Evidence: drill time-to-decision, automated actions triggered, review completeness.

Data & AI: special considerations

• Model & dataset lineage for auditability; store prompts & outputs when using LLMs.
• Access gating for AI tools (SSO, data boundary); disable copy-paste to public tools where required.
• Guard against prompt injection/data exfiltration in RAG or agent setups; restrict outbound connectors.
• Keep a feature catalog and approval process for production models.

What to measure (security that shows its work)

• Coverage: SSO/MFA %, device compliance %, privileged accounts with JIT.
• Health: critical patches age, failed jobs, backup verifications, data uptime.
• Response: MTTD/MTTR, false-positive rate, mean actions automated.
• Human: phishing click-through, training completion, policy exceptions.

Common anti-patterns (skip these)

• Buying a platform before defining outcomes.
• “One giant SIEM with every alert” → alert fatigue.
• Wide admin roles “just in case”.
• Unowned data—no steward, no SLA, no trust.

Budgeting & team

• Start with small, high-leverage changes (identity, endpoints, high-risk SaaS).
• Core crew: 1 security owner, 1 cloud/IT, 1 data steward; external help for design & rollout.
• Aim for <1–2% of function OPEX to prove value in a quarter, then expand.

A reference pattern (vendor-neutral)

• Identity: Okta/Azure AD, MFA, conditional access, PAM/JIT.
• Endpoint: EDR (CrowdStrike/S1/Defender), patch orchestration.
• Network/App: WAF/CDN, API gateway, secrets manager, IaC.
• Detect/Respond: SIEM/SOAR tuned to your environment.
• Data: encryption, masking, DLP, access via governed layers; dbt tests & lineage.

Swap components to match your standards—the pattern is what matters.

Your next step

Start with a focused 10-Day Roadmap Sprint: current-state audit, risk & opportunity map, and a 90-day plan with effort and sequencing. Vendor-neutral. Fixed fee. No lock-in.

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