The Zero Trust model 

Would you trust everyone in your organisation with the keys to your home? It’s safe to say the answer to that is no. We all have things in our personal space that are for our eyes only, so, why then would we trust everyone in our organisation with unlimited access to our network?

What is Zero Trust?

The Zero Trust model is a security framework based on the principle of ‘Never Trust, Always Verify’. This approach ensures that all users of our network infrastructure must always be authenticated, authorised, and validated before being granted access to applications and data. Zero Trust assumes that anyone, whether it’s the CEO, a new starter, or a contractor, has the potential to become a threat actor. 

Traditional security frameworks often assume trust and may allow individuals access to data or applications outside of their work remit. In contrast, the Zero Trust model continuously validates every user, ensuring they can only access the data and applications relevant to their role. 

Why do we need it? 

One of the more prominent security challenges that modern organisations face is insider threats. These threats can come from regular employees, third parties, or privileged users. As stated in our Global Cyber Risk Report 2025, “Insider threat actors will likely continue to engage in identity theft whilst applying for high-salary IT and software development job positions.” This raises the question: can we always be sure that our employees are truly our employees?

With organisations facing average remediation costs of more than £1 million and an ever-growing increase in these types of malicious actors targeting organisations, there has never been a better time to implement the Zero Trust model as an effective way of mitigating this type of threat. 

Who is Zero Trust aimed at? 

The Zero Trust model is aimed at any organisation that values its data and wants to protect itself from internal and external threats. From small businesses to large enterprises, if your organisation has any form of IT infrastructure, the Zero Trust model is for you. 

How it works 

Zero Trust is a security framework that rejects the concept of a reliable internal network by continuously verifying all access requests. Rather than allowing unlimited access once inside the network, Zero Trust requires ongoing authentication and authorisation. This includes verifying user identities, device health, and behaviour patterns. By segmenting resources and closely monitoring activities, Zero Trust drastically reduces the chance of lateral movement across the infrastructure. 

Behaviour analytics play a key role in detecting anomalies early. If a low-privilege user tries to access high-value resources, Zero Trust triggers alerts and enforces adaptive security policies. This approach means suspicious activity is contained before it escalates, minimizing the damage. 

Implementing a Zero Trust model helps organisations reduce risks, adapt to an evolving threat landscape, and protect critical data and assets in a more dynamic, cloud-centric world. 

How Microsoft solutions implement Zero Trust 

Microsoft Zero Trust integrates extensive security measures throughout its product ecosystem to deliver unified protection across identities, endpoints, and cloud applications. Microsoft Zero Trust carefully assesses and authenticates each request at every step to determine whether it should be approved or denied. 

Microsoft Entra ID, formerly called Azure Active Directory (AAD), enforces strong sign-in methods like multi-factor authentication (MFA) and uses conditional access policies to analyse real-time signals such as user location and device health. This ensures only verified individuals and compliant devices can access sensitive data. Endpoint protection and network micro-segmentation are enhanced by technologies like Microsoft Defender, which offers advanced threat protection through continuous monitoring for unusual activity. 

When anomalies are detected, Microsoft Defender’s automated response isolates compromised devices and applies step-up authentication measures. Tools like Microsoft Endpoint Manager allow security teams to roll out consistent policies, enforce least privilege access, and revoke permissions if a threat is detected.

In the cloud, Microsoft Defender 365 combines alerts across emails and data resources, providing security teams with a comprehensive view of potential risks. This unified visibility helps organisations adjust policies to adapt to the evolving threat landscape. Additionally, data is protected through encryption, data loss prevention tools, and granular access controls, aligning with Zero Trust’s goal of reducing the attack surface. 

Why Quorum Cyber? 

Quorum Cyber’s mission is to help good people win. It does this by defending teams and organisations across the world and all industry sectors against the rising threat of cyber-attacks, enabling them to thrive in an increasingly hostile, unpredictable, and fast-changing digital landscape. As a Microsoft Solutions Partner for Security and a member of the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA), Quorum Cyber’s 400+ team members deliver managed services and professional services across Europe, North America and the Middle East to private sector, public sector, and not-for profit organisations.  

Contact us if you would like to discuss your cyber security challenges.