The Russian proverb “Trust, but verify” (Доверяй, но проверяй), popularized by President Ronald Reagan during nuclear disarmament discussions with the Soviet Union, is a principle that has since permeated various spheres of business and cybersecurity. In essence, the phrase emphasizes a careful balance between trust and oversight, acknowledging that while trust is necessary, it should always be accompanied by verification.
In the modern landscape of information security (infosec), this philosophy has evolved into what we now call zero trust architecture (ZTA), which fundamentally rethinks trust in a networked world. Today, zero trust has become a key element in securing businesses, especially as organizations embrace multi-cloud environments, remote work, and interconnected systems.
The Trust and Verify Approach in Zero Trust Architecture
At its core, the trust and verify approach acknowledges the need for initial trust—a necessary element for any interaction. But as history has shown, blind trust is a vulnerability. In cybersecurity, trust cannot be assumed based on location, identity, or privilege; it must be continuously verified.
A zero trust architecture reflects this concept by distrusting all entities in a network—whether inside or outside the perimeter—until they can be authenticated and authorized to access specific resources. In a zero trust model, access to resources is not a one-time gate; it is based on a continuous assessment of an entity’s behavior, privileges, and security posture.
However, traditional zero trust approaches, which often rely on static controls such as initial authentication and authorization, may fall short. Attackers can exploit privileged access or steal credentials to escalate privileges within the network after gaining initial entry. In these cases, the "verify" portion of trust but verify can become the weak link, which brings us to the next step in the evolution of zero trust: continuous adaptive risk and trust assessment.
Moving Beyond Static Trust: The Case for Continuous Verification
In today’s threat landscape, static assessments of trust are no longer enough. Cyberattackers exploit the gaps in a traditional zero trust model by leveraging credential theft, privilege escalation, and policy misconfiguration to move laterally within a network after breaching the perimeter.
This was demonstrated in recent high-profile attacks, such as the SolarWinds supply chain attack and the Colonial Pipeline ransomware incident, where attackers leveraged initial access to gain widespread network control by exploiting weaknesses in internal security.
To address these challenges, the concept of continuous adaptive risk and trust assessment (CARTA) has emerged. As Gartner notes, “security and risk management leaders need to embrace a strategic approach where security is adaptive, everywhere, all the time.” This approach demands that risk and trust are continuously evaluated—not just at the moment of entry, but throughout the lifecycle of an entity’s interaction with the network.
In the context of the trust but verify philosophy, CARTA embodies the "verify" component in real-time. It constantly reassesses trust based on how entities behave, adapting security responses dynamically if their actions deviate from expected patterns or increase risk. With CARTA, even once access is granted, interactions between users, applications, and services are monitored, and access is revoked or adjusted if risk thresholds are exceeded.
Vectra AI’s Continuous Monitoring with Privileged Access Analytics
Vectra AI takes this continuous verification a step further with Privileged Access Analytics (PAA). While many security platforms focus on whether an entity is granted privilege, Vectra AI’s PAA emphasizes how entities are using those privileges. This shift from granted privilege to observed privilege aligns perfectly with the trust but verify mindset, delivering real-time monitoring and continuous evaluation of risk.
Using AI-driven behavioral analysis, Vectra AI’s platform identifies anomalies in how users, hosts, and services operate within the network. By analyzing network traffic and behavior, PAA continuously assesses whether entities are using their privileges appropriately, highlighting potential misuse or suspicious actions.
For example:
- Credential theft can be detected by monitoring whether an entity suddenly accesses resources beyond its usual scope.
- Privilege escalation attempts are flagged when a lower-level user suddenly tries to access highly privileged areas.
- Lateral movement within the network is detected when entities interact with systems or services they don’t typically engage with.
The platform also assigns threat scores and risk prioritization to each entity, ensuring that security teams can focus on the most critical threats in real-time. This continuous monitoring goes beyond static zero trust to deliver a dynamic and adaptive security posture.
The Vectra AI Advantage: End-to-End Visibility
In addition to Privileged Access Analytics, the Vectra AI Platform continuously monitors hosts and their network-level behaviors. This includes identifying activities such as internal reconnaissance, lateral movement, and data exfiltration. By combining PAA with behavioral monitoring, Vectra AI provides security teams with end-to-end visibility across all traffic, from the cloud to the enterprise, and throughout hybrid infrastructures.
The Vectra AI Platform seamlessly integrates with other security tools, enabling adaptive, real-time threat detection in complex environments where zero trust policies are implemented. This continuous verification process strengthens zero trust architectures by ensuring that trust is never assumed and that all entities are monitored and verified in real-time.
Strengthening Zero Trust with Vectra AI
As businesses increasingly adopt cloud-native and hybrid environments, the zero trust model must evolve. By focusing on continuous adaptive risk and trust assessment, Vectra AI ensures that trust is never static and that verification is an ongoing process. With the ability to monitor behavior at all levels of privilege and across all areas of the network, Vectra AI helps businesses stay ahead of threats in an era where trust is both a necessity and a vulnerability.
If you’re ready to enhance your zero trust strategy with continuous verification and privileged access analytics, contact us to schedule a demo of the Vectra AI platform or speak with a representative to learn more about how we can help secure your network.