With more and more cyber-attacks in the news and an executive order around Zero Trust, your clients might be asking how they can better protect themselves and their communications. Fortunately, cloud security has a Zero Trust Architecture at heart, and moving your clients over to a white-label UCaaS platform should be easier than ever.
Components of Zero Trust Security
Zero Trust Architecture means that users inside and outside the firewall require repeated authentication. Previously, anything internal would be trusted automatically, and only external users would be questioned.
Users
Part of Zero Trust is repeated authentication on the network. Even if an employee works on-site, that doesn’t mean they get automatic access to the network. They may be logged out due to inactivity to limit access.
Not only does this new security process validate user credentials repeatedly, but it also observes behavior patterns for the user: device usage at midnight when the user typically works until 6 pm might indicate a malicious takeover.
Devices
The benefit of a UCaaS platform is the use of any device to communicate with your team and clients. This benefit can feel like a liability in the old security mindset.
With the Zero Trust mindset, developers knew that these files would be accessed off-site or on a personal device and built that security into the application. Security providers will have visibility into the app usage to notice inconsistencies and vulnerabilities.
Permissions
The Zero Trust model allows access only to the network elements that the user needs to do their job. This limitation not only protects a business from an unintentional breach (employees who accidentally access confidential information) and malicious attacks.
If hackers steal an employee’s credentials, the appropriate permissions slow them down as they work their way through the network.
Moving Clients away from Castle-and-Moat Mentality
One reason companies want to get back to the office and keep employees on-site is the outdated castle-and-moat mentality.
Business owners mistakenly believe all the devices and users on-site are within the firewall, which means they must be secure. As cybercriminals have become more sophisticated, the on-site firewall has still fallen short. Even small businesses need to adopt the “trust no one” motto of Zero Trust Architecture to avoid the risk of ransomware and other malware corrupting their security.
As an MSP and white label UCaaS provider, you can demonstrate the safe possibilities for remote employees on-site and set them up for security success.
How UCaaS Supports Zero Trust
Fortunately, as UCaaS has grown in popularity, it has become a more secure way to implement Zero Trust practices for a business. Because UCaaS is built on the premise of a “perimeter-less” network, many security practices are already in place to protect against malicious hacking.
Two-Factor Authentication
One of the biggest security complaints from your clients is probably password usage. Best practices suggest changing passwords every three months and enabling two-factor authentication. Even though some employees may find this a hassle, it alerts them when someone tries to use their credentials to access the network – they’ll receive the authentication text when they didn’t ask for it!
Secure Data Center
The geo-redundant data centers allow for multiple backups of client data, protecting them from natural disasters, as well as cyber threats like ransomware. These data centers require numerous layers of security for users, making them more challenging to access.
HIPAA Compliance
Because Viirtue’s white-label platform is already HIPAA compliant, your medical clients won’t need to worry about those security measures. With end-to-end encryption on their communications, patient data remains confidential and secure.
Best Practices for MSPs
In the world of spear phishing and ransomware, how can you better help your clients secure their businesses?
- Daily, backups on multiple servers: This is the easiest way to protect against ransomware. They might control your data for now, but you have a backup to get up and running.
- Educate clients on the importance of strong passwords.
- Encourage them to clarify employee permissions and access, preventing unintentional and malicious data breaches.
Viirue’s white-label UCaaS model allows businesses to quickly add secure users, control access, and authenticate cloud usage. With your guidance and sophisticated tools, your clients can be confident they have protection against the most recent threats.