HashiCorp Zero Trust Security User Guide
- June 1, 2024
- HashiCorp
Table of Contents
HashiCorp Zero Trust Security
Trust Nothing
Authenticate and Authorize Everything.
The transition from traditional on-premises datacenters and environments to dynamic, cloud infrastructure is complex and introduces new challenges for enterprise security. There are more systems to manage, more endpoints to monitor, more networks to connect, and more people that need access. The potential for a breach increases significantly, and it is only a matter of time without the right security posture.
Securing traditional datacenters required managing and securing an IP-based perimeter with networks and firewalls, HSMs, SIEM, and other physical access restrictions. But those same solutions are no longer sufficient as companies move to cloud.
Securing infrastructure in the cloud requires a different approach.
As companies move to the cloud, the measures they took to secure their private
datacenters start to disappear. IP-based perimeters and access are replaced by
ephemeral IP addresses and a constantly changing workforce with the need to
access shared resources.
Managing access and IPs at scale becomes brittle and complex.
Securing infrastructure, data, and access becomes increasingly difficult across clouds and on-premises datacenters, requiring lots of overhead and expertise. This shift requires a different approach to security, a different trust model. One that trusts nothing and authenticates and authorizes everything.
Because of the highly dynamic environment, organizations talk about a “zero trust” approach to cloud security. What does “zero trust” actually mean and what’s required for you to make it successful?
Challenges of multi-cloud zero trust security
Managing access by IPs
Traditional solutions for safeguarding infrastructure, data, and access are rooted in the need to secure based on IP addresses. Applications talking to databases, users accessing hosts and services, and servers talking across clouds — traditionally these have all been protected by allowing or restricting access based on IP addresses. Managing access to this same infrastructure and data as companies migrate to the cloud becomes significantly harder and operationally complex as IPs are more dynamic and change frequently.
Securing machine connectivity
Machine-to-machine access is a core element of a cloud-first organization. Legacy ITIL-based methods requiring conventional ticket systems are slow, burdensome, and not flexible enough to meet the rigorous security demands of today’s dynamic cloud environments.
Scaling with demand
Traditional access and identity management with manual processes is slow, inefficient, and ineffective. Security measures like tokens, key cards, and passwords require direct IT intervention which requires significant resources and time, especially when required for hundreds or thousands of individual users and machines.
Enabling scalable, dynamic security across clouds
There are four pillars of multi-cloud security in a zero trust world:
machine authentication and authorization, machine-to-machine access, human
authentication and authorization, and human-to machine access.
Across these four pillars is a consistent requirement: identity driven
controls. At HashiCorp, our security model is predicated on the principle of
identity-based access and security. In order for any machine or user to do
anything, they must authenticate who or what they are, and their identity and
policies define what they’re allowed to do. Here’s how the HashiCorp offerings
can help you with each pillar and make zero trust security truly work:
Machine Authentication & Authorization
HashiCorp Vault enables
practitioners and enterprises to centrally secure, store, access and
distribute dynamic secrets like tokens, passwords, certificates, and
encryption keys across any public or private cloud environment. Vault provides
an automated workflow for both people and machines to centrally manage access
to credentials and encrypting sensitive data through a single API. With HCP
Vault, get all of the power and security, without the complexity and overhead
running it.
Machine-to-machine access
HashiCorp Consul enables machine-
to-machine access by enforcing authentication between applications and
ensuring only the right machines are talking to each other. Consul codifies
authorization and traffic rules with encrypted traffic while automating
identity-based access for maximum scale, efficiency, and security. With
Consul, organizations can discover services, automate network configurations,
and enable secure connectivity across any cloud or runtime using Consul
service mesh.
Human access and authorization
Companies use different identity platforms for federated systems of record.
Leveraging these trusted identity providers is the principle of identity-based
access and security. HashiCorp products have deep integration with the leading
identity providers.
Human-to-machine access
Traditional solutions for safeguarding user access used to require
distributing and managing SSH keys, VPN credentials, and bastion hosts, which
creates risks around credential sprawl and users having access to entire
networks and systems. HashiCorp Boundary
provides simple, secure remote access to securely access dynamic hosts and
services without managing credentials, IPs, or exposing your network.
Business impact of multi-cloud security
HashiCorp approach to identity-based security and access provides a solid foundation for companies to safely migrate and secure their infrastructure, applications, and data as they move to a multi-cloud world.
Faster Cloud Adoption
Accelerate cloud adoption with push-button deployments and built-in best practices.
Increased Productivity
Increase productivity and reduce cost with fully managed infrastructure.
Multi-Cloud Flexibility
Enable multi-cloud flexibility with a single workflow for all providers.
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