Introducing Identity & Endpoint Protection with Microsoft Zero Trust

Authored by Mustafa Hamid, Global Discipline Lead, Modern Workforce, Dell Technologies Consulting Services

The average cost of a data breach worldwide last year was 4.24 million U.S. dollars. Phishing and firmware attacks are on the rise, half a million password attacks occur daily and ransomware is a continuous threat for every business.  The significance of the issue, reflected in the amount of resources, staff and money organizations are devoting to cybersecurity, cannot be overstated.   

To help our customers reduce risk and protect data, Dell Technologies is introducing new products and services focused on the Zero Trust cybersecurity model. We recently announced a Zero Trust Center of Excellence and Cybersecurity Advisory Services, and we are partnering with other technology leaders to simplify Zero Trust adoption for our customers. 

Since many of our customers rely heavily on Microsoft technologies for collaboration and Identity and Access Management, we are expanding our Zero Trust offerings by now introducing Identity & Endpoint Protection with Microsoft Zero Trust.

What is Zero Trust?

Let’s take a step back. Zero Trust is a cybersecurity architecture that shifts how organizations approach security from reliance solely on perimeter defenses to a proactive strategy that allows only known-good activity across ecosystems and data pipelines.

The Zero Trust model enforces trust across devices, users, networks, applications, infrastructure and data with automation and orchestration across the modern workplace stack and leverages analytics and visibility to provide insights. 

Zero Trust follows the guiding principles of:

• Verify explicitly — always verify users, devices and network requests based on every available data point regardless of their location
• Use least privileged access — limit user access to the resources they absolutely need for their current role and job functions
• Assume breach — segment access, leverage end-to-end encryption, and continuously look for threats and ways to strengthen defenses

Instead of assuming everything within the network perimeter can be trusted, Zero Trust continuously authenticates every device and entity, verifies behavior is explicitly allowed, and ensures actions are understood and monitored. A thoughtful implementation of Zero Trust principles, leveraging both the right strategy and modern security tools, is needed so as not to hinder productivity in a hybrid work environment. 

Dell Identity & Endpoint Protection with Microsoft Zero Trust

The path to Zero Trust looks different for every organization and it is a complex journey to implement this architecture. Dell is committed to simplifying the adoption of Zero Trust by streamlining integration across IT environments. 

No matter where an organization is on their Zero Trust journey, it is important to establish where they stand, measure progress as they go, prioritize efforts that maximize business impact and instill a security mindset throughout their organization.

Dell created an accelerated approach to protecting Microsoft ecosystems using Zero Trust principles, Microsoft solutions and our security expertise. Our Identity & Endpoint Protection with Microsoft Zero Trust services are designed to quickly help organizations understand their current security posture and priorities to achieve Zero Trust alignment, then provide the expert guidance, implementation services, adoption and change management strategies to drive secure outcomes. 

This new suite of service offerings helps organizations:

• Assess their environment to gauge existing cybersecurity posture and provide actionable recommendations and insights to make progress toward Zero Trust alignment, including assessment of Active Directory and Azure Active Directory.

• Secure the computing landscape through the lens of Zero Trust. For organizations that rely heavily on Microsoft technology, the Microsoft Defender suite of solutions along with Dell services help secure key defense focus areas such as endpoints, Microsoft 365 and Active Directory, and provide integration with the Microsoft Sentinel SIEM platform and IT Services Management platforms, such as ServiceNow. 
• Ensure end-users are invested in the need for security controls and have the knowledge and ability to participate in helping secure their environment. Our approach includes adoption and change management specifically centered on cyber solutions to drive awareness and training, and instill a security mindset with end-users. 
• Provide continuous protection with incident response and managed detection and response services for customers needing managed services for cybersecurity

With deep expertise in both security and Microsoft technologies, we apply industry best practices and knowledge gained from thousands of customer engagements to accelerate security initiatives and help them become more resilient.