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In the past, cybersecurity was largely built on trust. If someone was inside your network, they were assumed to be safe. This model worked when company assets were kept safely behind firewalls, users physically sat at office desks, and systems very rarely leaving the perimeter. But this way of working is quickly disappearing.
Today, with remote work, cloud infrastructure, third-party integrations, and an endless stream of evolving threats, trust has become outdated. This has led to the rise of a model called ‘Zero Trust’ within the cybersecurity space. But adopting Zero Trust is more than just securing systems, it’s about reshaping how businesses approach their compliance and managing the ever-present risk of human error.
This article will explain what Zero Trust is, what it means for businesses and their compliance, and how platforms like OneClickComply can help.
What is Zero Trust?
Zero Trust is a cybersecurity approach built on one core assumption, “Never trust, always verify.” It operates on the principle that no user, device, or system, either internal or external, should be inherently trusted to access resources.
This model differs greatly from the traditional “castle and moat” approach, where users who were able to get inside the network were granted wide access. Today, with businesses operating in the cloud, supporting remote work, and using a wide variety of third-party tools on a daily basis, this perimeter no longer exists. As a result, Zero Trust is now seen as the modern standard.
Rather than granting access based on network location or user role alone, Zero Trust continuously validates who is requesting access, what they are trying to access, where they are coming from, and whether their request makes sense based on the given context.
While there are products, solutions, and software that adopt or integrate the Zero Trust name, Zero Trust is a mindset and approach to security that requires technical enforcement across the business.
The Key Principles of Zero Trust
- Least Privilege Access
This principle states that users (and systems) should only have access to the data, systems, or functions that they require for their role, and nothing more.
For example, a member of the marketing team does not need access to production databases or payroll systems. Applying least privilege means they can only see what’s relevant to their role, reducing potential damage if their account is compromised.
This is also a requirement for most compliance frameworks, such as ISO 27001, SOC 2, and Cyber Essentials, often alongside other restrictions like role-based access, or limiting administrative privileges.
- Continuous Verification
Rather than authenticating a user once and assuming they’re trustworthy indefinitely, Zero Trust requires ongoing verification. This means constantly re-evaluating credentials, behaviour, device health, and context with every access attempt.
A user might pass an MFA challenge at login, but Zero Trust asks for additional context. Are they still acting as expected? Have their permissions changed? Is this access request consistent with their typical responsibilities?
This approach directly addresses threats such as session hijacking, stale credentials, and insider threats.
- Micro-Segmentation
Micro-segmentation involves breaking down networks into smaller, isolated zones so that, even if one part is breached, the attacker cannot move across the network without further authorisation.
For example, if a malware infection hits a sales system, it shouldn’t automatically spread to HR or finance.
- Assume Breach
Lastly, Zero Trust operates with the mindset that ‘a breach has already occurred, or is inevitable.’ While it could be seen as a pessimistic attitude, it’s actually a realistic approach. By designing systems under this assumption, businesses can focus more on detection, response, and containment, rather than just prevention.
This approach also aligns with compliance expectations around incident response, risk assessment, and auditing.
Does Zero Trust Matter for Compliance?
The Zero Trust approach isn’t just about minimising threats, it’s also about demonstrating that your business has implemented meaningful protections.
Most major standards, such as ISO 27001 and SOC 2, require organisations to demonstrate:
- Role-based access controls
- Multi-factor authentication
- Network segmentation
- Regular access reviews
- Logging and monitoring of user activity
- Policies for responding to security incidents
All of which are covered by the Zero Trust model. While no framework actively calls for the implementation of Zero Trust, it aligns with the security-first nature of modern compliance. Frameworks and regulations increasingly expect security within a business to be ongoing, adaptive, and measurable, which Zero Trust is designed to support.
How OneClickComply Can Help
Although OneClickComply is not a dedicated Zero Trust platform, it enables businesses to practically implement core elements of Zero Trust architecture by aligning with established security frameworks like Cyber Essentials, SOC 2, and ISO 27001. Through its automated approach, OneClickComply allows businesses to build strong security foundations, many of which apply to Zero Trust.
OneClickComply allows organisations to automatically apply security controls with a single click, removing the manual burden from IT and compliance teams. These controls include enforcing multi-factor authentication, limiting user access, disabling unused or high-risk accounts, and applying secure configurations across systems. These measures directly support the Zero Trust principle of least privilege and eliminate assumptions about user trust.
To reinforce those controls, the platform also automatically generates policies that reflect the security configurations already in place. This means businesses don’t just say they’ve implemented access restrictions, they can prove it, with documentation that mirrors their real-world controls. This is critical for Zero Trust, which relies on having both technical and policy-level enforcement in sync.
Beyond access and identity, OneClickComply supports Zero Trust-aligned governance through its built-in Information Security Management System (ISMS). Businesses can log and track security incidents, manage assets and asset ownership, document vendor risk, and ensure operational visibility across their digital infrastructure, functions that are foundational to monitoring and controlling risk in a Zero Trust context.
Zero Trust is not a “set-and-forget” model, it demands ongoing validation. OneClickComply addresses this with continuous compliance monitoring. The platform constantly checks for drift or sudden changes, such as the deactivation of MFA, permission changes, or new vulnerabilities wihtin the environment. These checks ensure that Zero Trust-aligned controls stay enforced over time—not just at audit time.
Finally, OneClickComply enhances visibility into infrastructure risk with integrated penetration testing and device vulnerability detection. By identifying common misconfigurations, outdated software, and exposed endpoints, the platform gives businesses the insights they need to minimise attack surface and address weaknesses before they’re exploited, key components of the Zero Trust principle to "assume breach."
In practice, working toward compliance with OneClickComply brings businesses closer to a Zero Trust security model. Every action, whether it’s enforcing MFA, applying access policies, logging vendor risks, or addressing vulnerabilities, moves the organisation closer to the core principles of ‘never trust, always verify.’
