Zero Trust: a practical mindset for effective digital security

Trust is a natural foundation for collaboration between people and organisations. We tend to assume that employees follow the rules, systems are correctly configured, and partners uphold their responsibilities. When it comes to cybersecurity, however, making such assumptions can be risky. This is where the Zero Trust principle comes in.

Today’s organisations operate within complex, often hybrid IT-environments, featuring remote workstations, SaaS applications, third-party suppliers, and cloud access. As network boundaries become increasingly blurred, the associated risks also grow.

A simple human error or momentary lapse of attention can have significant consequences. Moreover, the impact often goes beyond IT alone. For instance, halting production processes, leaking sensitive information, or eroding the trust of customers or citizens.

In this context, routines and good intentions are no longer enough. If you take digital security seriously, you can’t rely on habit or assumption; you must opt for conscious oversight and control. This can be done using both the NIST Framework and the Zero Trust principle.

“Do not rely on routine or assumptions; instead, opt for conscious oversight and control.”

Zero Trust: when automatic trust no longer suffices

The principle behind Zero Trust is simple: trust nothing and no one without verification. This isn’t about being distrustful, but about recognising that context is often lacking.

You can’t always be certain who someone is or what their intentions are behind an action or request. Therefore, it makes sense to check everything from identity to behaviour, and grant access only when absolutely necessary.

In practice, this translates into minimal privileges, continuous verification, behaviour-based monitoring, and default-deny systems. The aim isn’t to lock everything down, but to make informed decisions about what is accessible and under what conditions.

Thinking and organising differently is key

Zero Trust isn’t a standalone tool or setting; it’s a mindset that shapes both your technical and organisational approach to security. Every element related to control is part of the picture, from access management and segmentation to logging and incident response. In reality, this requires close cooperation between IT, security teams, and management.

The challenge is to always know who is responsible for what, which systems are connected, and how to recognise anomalies. This calls for clear procedures for access control, technical segmentation and multi-factor authentication, monitoring of behaviours and context, as well as thorough evaluation of incidents and near-misses. All these elements form the foundation for a Zero Trust approach that truly works in practice.

Start small and take targeted steps

Zero Trust isn’t an end in itself; rather, it helps organisations maintain control in an ever-changing environment. It’s not about fear, but about vigilance and awareness. You don’t have to do everything at once.

Begin by gaining clarity: who has access to which systems? Which accounts have broad privileges? How is your network segmented? Where is monitoring in place? With this insight, you can make step-by-step improvements.

But whatever you do, it all starts with awareness. Zero Trust isn’t just an extra security layer, it’s a different way of looking at security, and one you can organise effectively.

Curious to find out how Zero Trust can enhance your organisation’s digital security?

Download the white paper ‘NIST & Zero Trust: Foundations for Cyber Resilience’ and discover how structure and insight can help you build digital security in an open world.