This Year’s Zero Trust Opportunity for Security Professionals

Written by Martin Hall.

The world of Zero Trust is at the doorstep of security professionals, bringing the opportunity to add value to their tool belts and advance their careers and opportunities.

Digital transformation is gathering pace. Organizations are increasing their use of cloud infrastructure, and large numbers of new connected devices continue to come online. In parallel, the threat surface for potential cyber-attacks is expanding, and the nature of threats to digital environments is evolving.

To mitigate those threats, organizations are increasingly turning to Zero Trust principles. However, understanding and implementing Zero Trust principles requires knowledge, skills, and products for organizations to successfully pave the way to the successful adoption of Zero Trust approaches in their organizations.

Recent research indicates a growing demand and need for Zero Trust skills in the market. However, there is an expertise gap that creates opportunities for forward-looking security professionals This blog post examines the drivers towards the Zero Trust World, the foundation of capabilities being laid by multiple vendors, and how individuals can enhance their skills and value by preparing for its adoption and implementation with an authoritative, flexible training and certificate program.

The Why, What, and When of Zero Trust

Sophisticated cyber attacks are becoming more prevalent, targeting vulnerabilities in security systems with advanced techniques such as phishing, ransomware, social engineering, and insider attacks. Security professionals must continually update their strategies and adopt a comprehensive security framework with the latest threat prevention and detection techniques to safeguard sensitive information and systems.

Zero Trust principles have become key to security strategies for reducing the attack surface and risks of a data breach. By verifying every request, Zero Trust security reduces the risk posed by vulnerable cloud infrastructure and connected devices and is designed to mitigate threats that bypass traditional perimeter-oriented protections.

Zero Trust continues to gain mindshare across enterprise employers. Gartner predicts that over 60% of organizations will embrace Zero Trust principles for security by 2025. The Biden administration issued an executive order to improve cybersecurity in the U.S. Federal Government, specifically referencing the use of Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA).

Vendors have stepped up with a growing array of products and services to ensure organizations can implement Zero Trust with an existing or new supplier. For example, 37 CSA members provide Zero Trust capabilities in their products and services. Market needs and product supply are in place!

The Zero Trust Skill Gap is an Opportunity for Security Professionals

One key ingredient is missing, however. In a recent study of over 11,000 security professionals, Zero Trust is considered one of the top three skills gaps. For security professionals, this is an opportunity to add value to themselves, their employers, and their careers by adding Zero-Trust competence to their tool belts.

To give security professionals what they need, CSA has developed CCZT, a comprehensive training and certificate program for Zero Trust. As the first Zero Trust training and certificate program that is independent and informed by industry experts, CCZT is your on-ramp to becoming an accredited Zero Trust professional.

By enrolling in CCZT, participants learn:

• Foundational Zero Trust Concepts
• Zero Trust Architecture, Planning, and Implementation
• Fundamentals of Software-Defined Perimeters
• Industry Best Practices

The CCZT includes foundational Zero Trust components released by CISA and NIST, innovative work in the Software-Defined Perimeter by CSA Research, and guidance from renowned Zero Trust experts such as John Kindervag, Founder of the Zero Trust philosophy.

Add Zero Trust Knowledge and Accreditation to your Tool Belt

The world of Zero Trust is knocking on the door of organizations and security professionals. Enterprise organizations increasingly view it as a strategic pillar for optimal cloud infrastructure protection. Security professionals can create value for themselves and their employers by learning and getting their proficiency certified with CCZT.