Zero Trust with Zero Hassle
Master the delicate balance between security and access
Today’s chief information security officers (CISOs) and other security leaders are continually looking for better ways to protect their organizations. More specifically, CISOs need to proactively and strategically identify and prioritize cyber vulnerabilities, manage emerging threats, ensure third-party vendor security, and maintain data security in cloud-based environments.
Many organizations expect legacy security approaches to adapt with and effectively address threats as seamlessly as business needs evolve. The reality is that traditional tools and processes often lack the ability to keep pace with rising threat levels and new attack modes.
That’s why many CISOs are moving away from perimeter-based security models in favor of the “never trust, always verify” approach of Zero Trust.
Three Principles: The Concept of Zero Trust
Zero Trust is not a specific product. It’s a collection of security capabilities oriented to support security controls, promote visibility and orchestrate cyber capabilities across an organization’s digital environment.
Traditional IT network security trusts anyone inside the network as long as they can produce a password. In contrast, a Zero Trust architecture is based on three principles involving rigorous verification for every individual and device seeking access to resources on private networks:
Least privilege
Access is restricted to only what is necessary for users or services. This minimizes risk by ensuring that users and services have the minimum level of access required to perform their functions.
Always verify
Users are continually authenticated as they move within the environment. This ensures that the system always knows who the user is, what they are doing, and when they are doing it, adjusting the level of scrutiny based on the risk associated with their actions.
Assume breach
Systems and procedures are designed with the expectation that breaches will occur. This principle focuses on containing and limiting the movement of attackers within the network, ensuring that they cannot move laterally and cause widespread damage.
While many organizations have control measures in place, cyber incidents still occur frequently. To counter increasingly sophisticated attacks, cyber tools and capabilities must be scaled for greater agility. CISOs need strategies that are adaptable, scalable, and capable of evolving with threats, and Zero Trust offers such a strategy.
Establishing a Foundational Approach to Zero Trust
Zero Trust is often conceptualized as a framework comprising several core pillars: Identity, Devices, Networks, Applications and Workloads, and Data. These pillars are supported by a foundational layer that includes visibility, analytics, automation, orchestration, and governance.
While each pillar plays a critical role, the foundational elements are paramount. Security leaders should prioritize integrating tools and strategies across these domains to ensure cohesive and effective protection. Achieving visibility, orchestration, and governance across the enterprise enables a more resilient and responsive cybersecurity posture.
To effectively defend against threats, respond to incidents, and build organizational resilience, chief information security officers (CISOs) must establish both visibility and a deeper level of insight known as observability. Observability allows security teams to interpret what they see, understand its implications, and take informed action. Without this capability, it becomes difficult to identify risks or respond appropriately.
This is the essence of Zero Trust. By combining visibility and observability with automated response mechanisms, organizations can implement Zero Trust in a practical, scalable manner—transforming cybersecurity from a reactive function into a proactive strategy.
Zero Trust and Managed Services
Zero Trust is not a one-and-done initiative, nor is it a discrete security policy. It is a way of thinking — a journey for continually monitoring and improving the organization’s security posture. Using dynamic data signals, it calls for security systems to proactively evaluate every transaction and interaction, detect threats, and stay ready for whatever comes next.
Given the ongoing evolution of Zero Trust development, forward-looking companies are incorporating managed services into their strategies. They collaborate with managed security service providers who offer comprehensive solutions, ranging from identity and access management to application security testing and threat detection and response. These providers offer predictable costs and the flexibility to scale services up or down to meet rapidly changing needs, while delivering tech-enabled strategic outcomes.
The Business Case for Zero Trust
Enable better security practices on behalf of your customers Capable security requires the effective and efficient ability to observe signals, orient to the situation, decide on actions, and execute quickly throughout the environment. Enabler: Zero Trust
Reduce complexity to minimize overhead and stay agile Disparate "patch-work" tooling should be consolidated into fewer but more integrated platforms so teams can spend time on reducing risk instead of managing technology. Enabler: Zero Trust + Evolve to Platform
Without a defined Zero Trust service taxonomy, organizations may be perceived as having limited security capabilities. As a result, affiliates might implement their own capabilities leaving the organization’s services and tools to potentially overlap, become brittle, or lack the resilience necessary to accommodate change.
Source: KPMG LLP (KPMG), 2025.
What happens if we don’t embrace Zero Trust now?
In this era of sustained digital transformation, nearly every business decision has a cybersecurity component. That, along with the ever-evolving threat landscape, makes Zero Trust an increasingly critical consideration for organizations across virtually every industry.
While a Zero Trust approach is not a silver bullet, its absence can result in several disadvantages:
Organizations can lack the ability to adequately support operating companies, affiliates, and joint-ventures from a security perspective. This can also limit or negatively impact the user experience. Ambiguity about roles and responsibilities can create other issues and problems.
Product teams might continue implementations based on their interpretation of Zero Trust but without any shared context. Under-developed capabilities or services can limit progress toward automation, visibility, and orchestration.
Without a defined Zero Trust service taxonomy, organizations may be perceived as having limited security capabilities. As a result, affiliates might implement their own capabilities leaving the organization’s services and tools to potentially overlap, become brittle, or lack the resilience necessary to accommodate change.
With Zero Trust, however, organizations have a tested security model designed to help improve detection, protect data, reduce risk, enforce security policies, optimize processes, and maintain business continuity.
Proactive cybersecurity to help you guard against tomorrow’s threats today
As cyber threats grow in sophistication, CISOs must navigate an increasingly complex landscape of risks and vulnerabilities. With expanding regulatory requirements and the continuous evolution of attack methods, maintaining a robust cybersecurity posture is more critical than ever.
At KPMG, we understand these challenges and provide targeted approaches to address them effectively. Today's CISOs need strategies that are both adaptable and multifaceted to stay ahead of ever-evolving threats. KPMG combines leading technology, actionable insights, and distinguished expertise to help you prioritize and address your most critical cyber and tech risk challenges.
Our team leverages the latest in AI-driven analytics and industry best practices to deliver proactive, tailored solutions that fortify your security posture. Our cybersecurity and tech risk solutions are designed to enable your organization to anticipate threats, respond swiftly, and emerge stronger. From predictive threat intelligence to rapid incident response, KPMG is your advisor in navigating cyber risk with confidence and agility.
Advanced Threat Detection
Stay ahead of sophisticated cyber adversaries with AI and machine learning that detect and mitigate threats before they can impact your operations. Our solutions offer real-time threat intelligence and automated response mechanisms to keep your defenses strong and adaptive.
Enhanced Access Management
Effective identity and access management (IAM) is critical for controlling access to your systems and data. Automating IAM processes improves security and operational efficiency, helping ensure only authorized users have access based on stringent, dynamic policies.
Regulatory Compliance
Stay compliant with evolving regulations and standards such as GDPR, CCPA, and industry-specific mandates. Our compliance services help minimize regulatory risks and potential fines while streamlining audit and reporting processes.
Data Protection and Privacy
Ensure the integrity and privacy of data wherever it resides – on-premises, in the cloud, or in hybrid environments. Our strategies encompass robust encryption, DLP solutions, and strict access controls to protect against breaches and unauthorized access.
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Meet our team
Our KPMG Cyber and Tech Risk team offers clients unparalleled expertise and access to cutting-edge technology, ensuring robust protection against evolving cyber threats. By leveraging a unique blend of functional, industry, and technological experience, our professionals help organizations navigate the complex landscape of cybersecurity with confidence. Our specialists are skilled in areas such as AI-driven threat detection, cloud security, identity and access management, and advanced data privacy. We empower your organization to embrace technological advancements safely and confidently, transforming your cybersecurity posture from reactive to proactive.
