Submitted:
17 October 2024
Posted:
18 October 2024
You are already at the latest version
Abstract
The proliferation of cloud computing has given rise to challenges in security that established perimeter-based models cannot easily adapt to. The new buzzword Zero Trust, which is based on the principle of "never trust, always verify," has been looked up as one of the promising solutions. Is Zero Trust a certainty or pie in the sky for security in the cloud? This is discussed further in this paper. This philosophical approach leads us through the earlier work and scientific literature available on the subject, presenting Zero Trust's capabilities, advantages when introduced into cloud security architecture, and obstacles about its incorporation. The study finds that Zero Trust holds the potential to enhance cloud security significantly, but it is no silver bullet and demands careful implementation and further studies to understand its intricacies as well as pitfalls.
Keywords:
Zero Trust
; Cloud Security
; Cybersecurity
; Moving Target Defense
; Multi-Cloud Environments
; Security Orchestration
Introduction
The state of business has evolved radically due to the seamless integration of cloud computing processing techniques into workplaces. As highlighted by He et al. (2022), it has provided new levels of scalability, cost reductions, and agility, offering businesses the capacity to scale fast at no extra costs. Cloud computing has made it possible for companies to have at their disposal the most powerful and modern-day computational resources on-demand, which is driving ground-breaking innovation in virtually all sectors. Despite this impending shift to decentralized and distributed systems, one must not mistake the abundance of problems along the way. Cloud-specific security challenges are rendering the traditional organizational cybersecurity model based on secure perimeter networks increasingly impotent. He et al. (2022) and Almorsy et al. emphasize that the fluid boundaries and multiple points of access inherent in cloud computing have made the security landscape created by it very complex, one that traditional models struggle to navigate effectively. To address these emerging security threats, Zero Trust Security has risen as a possible solution. As Kang et al. (2023) explain, the crux of Zero Trust is persistent validation, in spite of where or on what network a user logs in. This represents a radical break from the ‘trust but verify’ approach of old to an ethos that is more reminiscent of ‘never trust, always verify,’ which neatly ties in with how cloud computing operates across geography and under multiple administrative boundaries.
The primary goal of this literature review is to offer an extensive and critical assessment of the possible practicality, appeals, and concerns revolving around introducing Zero Trust in cloud security infrastructure. The review sets out to answer four central research questions:
1. What specific vulnerabilities and threats have appeared in cloud environments that will lead us to discuss new security paradigms?
2. How effective is Zero Trust at tackling these problems? This section investigates the ability of Zero Trust principles to address these security concerns based on qualitative research and real-world case studies.
3. What are the key challenges of adopting Zero Trust in cloud-based systems? This question explores technical, organizational, and human factors that could act as barriers to the successful deployment of Zero Trust in cloud environments.
4. What are the benefits of combining Zero Trust with other next-generation security paradigms, such as Moving Target Defense (MTD)?
This review covers literature referring to peer-reviewed research articles, PhD proposals, or industry reports published from 2014 through 2024, presenting a more comprehensive view of the evolution of Zero Trust in cloud security while ensuring coverage of recent research and insights. The review is specifically limited to studies on Zero Trust in cloud computing and does not include those focusing solely on traditional network environments.
The review is designed to establish a foundation in cloud computing security challenges and the Zero Trust model. It then evaluates the potential of Zero Trust in cloud deployment, delves into the associated challenges, and discusses its integration with other security paradigms. This analysis concludes by drawing out major considerations and recommending areas for future research, providing an up-to-date snapshot of Zero Trust in the cloud security landscape.
Body
Background
Cloud computing is a core component of modern IT infrastructure, offering benefits such as scalability, cost savings, and flexibility. However, as He et al. (2022) point out, the shift towards decentralized and distributed systems introduces new attack vectors. With growing recognition that these dynamic deployments have outgrown traditional perimeter-based security models—which assume trust within the network perimeter—it has become clear that these models are insufficient (Almorsy et al., 2016; Mehraj, 2020; Sarkar et al., 2022). Zero Trust, a concept created by Forrester Research in 2010, helps businesses secure their networks by assuming no trust for anything trying to connect, whether inside or outside the perimeter. Based on the concept of “never trust, always verify,” this model allows for constant authentication and authorization of all users, devices, and applications attempting to access resources (Kang et al., 2023).
Cloud Security Issues & Zero Trust Potential
The literature identifies security problems as a key concern that hinders broader adoption of cloud services. Almorsy et al. (2016) and Mehraj et al. (2020) agree that the cloud’s dynamic nature, characterized by multi-tenancy and shared responsibilities between cloud service providers and customers, creates a unique security landscape. Zero Trust is seen as a possible solution to these problems. Paul & Rao (2022) show how Zero Trust can be applied in scenarios like smart manufacturing and cloud-hosted environments, focusing on micro-segmentation, device discovery, and compliance management tools.
D’Silva & Ambawade (2021) explore the use of containers and Kubernetes to build Zero Trust architectures resilient to various attacks. This approach aligns well with the dynamic, distributed nature of cloud environments, demonstrating how Zero Trust principles can be applied in cloud-native architectures to enhance security without sacrificing agility and scalability.
Challenges in Implementing Zero Trust
Despite its advantages, implementing Zero Trust in cloud environments, especially public clouds, presents significant challenges. Sarkar et al. (2022) highlight key issues such as internal and external cyberattacks, limited network visibility, and difficulties in orchestrating security across heterogeneous infrastructures. Chimakurthi (2020) discusses the complexity of applying consistent security policies across multiple public cloud service providers in multi-cloud environments. Standardized frameworks and protocols are needed to ease Zero Trust implementation across diverse platforms.
Csikor et al. (2022) point to additional challenges, such as the time required for authorization in Zero Trust architectures. In cloud environments where rapid resource provisioning is critical, such delays could impact performance and user experience. Their research underscores the need for optimized implementations that balance security and performance.
Integration of Zero Trust with Other Security Paradigms
An emerging area of research is the integration of Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) with other security paradigms, such as Moving Target Defense (MTD). Gayathri et al. (2023) suggest that combining ZTA and MTD could enhance protection against advanced persistent threats in cloud environments. MTD involves changing system configurations dynamically to increase complexity for attackers. When combined with Zero Trust’s continuous verification principle, this approach could strengthen cloud security.
Alavizadeh et al. (2021) provide insights into how MTD techniques could complement Zero Trust, though a significant research gap remains. Most studies focus on ZTA and MTD independently, leaving an opportunity for future research to explore how these approaches can be integrated to develop robust cloud security frameworks.
Critical Appraisal
The literature reviewed provides important insights into Zero Trust in cloud environments, but some limitations are identified:
1. Absent Empirical Validation: Many studies on Zero Trust in cloud environments remain largely hypothetical or based on anecdotal evidence. There is a shortage of solid empirical studies that support how well Zero Trust works at scale in various cloud use cases. Researchers like Mehraj (2020) call for more practical applications and evaluations of Zero Trust in public cloud environments.
2. Technical Emphasis: The technical nature of Zero Trust dominates the literature, while limited attention is given to organizational and human factors that could affect its effectiveness. Lambrinoudakis (2017) points out this constraint, suggesting a holistic cloud security approach that includes both technical and non-technical elements.
3. Minimal Focus on Multi-Cloud: Although some studies, like Chimakurthi (2020), mention the challenges of implementing Zero Trust in multi-cloud infrastructures, they do not explore different strategies to secure them. The increasing popularity of multi-cloud strategies in enterprise environments makes this gap particularly significant.
4. Initial Research on Integration with Other Paradigms: The integration of Zero Trust with other security paradigms like Moving Target Defense (MTD) is still an emerging area. While studies like Gayathri et al. (2023) propose frameworks for integration, more empirical research is necessary to better understand the synergies and difficulties associated with such integrations.
The reviewed studies consistently underscore that Zero Trust is not a magic solution for cloud security but one of the reliable approaches when combined with strong implementation and testing. Zero Trust is capable of mitigating many security issues in cloud computing environments (Kang et al., 2023; Paul & Rao, 2022; D’Silva & Ambawade, 2021), but there are significant challenges in complex multi-cloud contexts (Chimakurthi, 2020; Csikor et al., 2022).
Key Findings
1. Zero Trust as a Superior Model: Zero Trust offers significant advantages over traditional perimeter-based models, particularly in cloud environments where flexibility and a comprehensive security strategy are needed. Zero Trust’s core principle of “never trust, always verify” aligns well with the fluid boundaries of cloud infrastructures, offering continuous authentication and authorization. This model is better suited to defending against both external and insider threats in cloud environments.
2. Challenges in Implementation: Despite its benefits, Zero Trust presents several challenges in cloud settings. Sarkar et al. (2022) highlight that limited network visibility can hinder the application of Zero Trust principles, making it difficult to enforce granular access controls and detect anomalies. Csikor et al. (2022) add that Zero Trust orchestration can be complex, requiring integration across multiple security components and cloud infrastructures. There are also concerns about performance impacts, as the constant verification processes inherent in Zero Trust may introduce latency and affect user experience.
3. Integration with Other Paradigms: The potential for integrating Zero Trust with other advanced security paradigms, such as MTD, is an exciting frontier in cloud security research. Gayathri et al. (2023) explore the synergies between Zero Trust and MTD, suggesting that combining the two approaches could enhance cloud security by continuously changing the attack surface. However, Alavizadeh et al. (2021) warn that while such integration shows promise, it adds complexity and requires further investigation, particularly regarding the balance between security and performance and the development of standardized integration frameworks.
Directions for Future Research
1. Large-scale empirical research is required across various cloud setups to fully understand Zero Trust’s effectiveness in public clouds. These studies should include diverse businesses, organizations, and cloud deployment models (public, private, or hybrid). Research into whether Zero Trust works in practice is lacking, as there’s little real-world data on security incidents, performance metrics, or user experiences. Such research would provide critical insights on how cloud security professionals can adapt and scale Zero Trust, helping to refine its strategies and better assess its advantages versus risks.
2. As Chimakurthi (2020) notes, implementing Zero Trust in multi-cloud environments is especially challenging, warranting further exploration. When organizations use services from multiple cloud providers, security management becomes more complex. Standardized approaches for implementing Zero Trust across different cloud platforms, ensuring consistent security policies, and seamless user experiences should be a focus of future research. This includes methods for unified identity management, cross-cloud access controls, and centralized security monitoring for multi-cloud setups.
3. The integration of Zero Trust with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) offers exciting possibilities for security automation in cloud environments. Future researchers should explore how AI/ML can improve real-time threat detection, adaptive access controls, and anomaly detection. This could lead to smarter, more adaptive security systems that automatically adjust to evolving threats and changing cloud infrastructures, reducing the workload for security teams while improving security posture.
4. Lambrinoudakis (2017) emphasizes that organizational and human factors play a crucial role in the successful implementation of Zero Trust. Future research should explore how organizational culture, employee attitudes, and user behavior affect Zero Trust adoption in cloud environments. This includes examining change management strategies, user training approaches, and finding a balance between security and usability. Understanding these human elements is key to developing implementation strategies that are technically sound, operationally feasible, and sustainable across various organizational contexts.
5. Building on Gayathri et al. (2023), future research should investigate how Zero Trust can be integrated with other security paradigms like Moving Target Defense (MTD). Researchers need to explore how these approaches can be combined to create stronger cloud security architectures. This includes studying how Zero Trust’s continuous authentication principles can be merged with MTD’s dynamic infrastructure changes. Research should also focus on managing complexity, ensuring performance, and developing unified management interfaces for these combined approaches.
Conclusions
In conclusion, Zero Trust represents a significant shift in security thinking. With continued research and refinement, it has the potential to become a fundamental component of robust cloud computing ecosystems. However, addressing research gaps—such as empirical validation, multi-cloud implementation, and integration with other security approaches—is crucial to realizing this potential.
References
- Alavizadeh, H., Jang-Jaccard, J., & Kim, D. S. (2021). Evaluation for combination of moving target defence and deception technology in cloud computing. IEEE Access, 9, 87656-87669.
- Almorsy, M., Grundy, J., & Müller, I. (2016). An analysis of the cloud computing security problem. arXiv preprint arXiv:1609.01107.
- Chimakurthi, S. (2020). Zero trust security model for multi-cloud environment. International Journal of Scientific Research in Computer Science, Engineering and Information Technology, 7(2), 342-349.
- Csikor, L., Niculaescu, M. C., Kim, H., & Sonkoly, B. (2022). Toward a Zero Trust Cloud Native Ecosystem. IEEE Access, 10, 122258-122272.
- D’Silva, S., & Ambawade, D. (2021). A novel zero trust architecture for securing cloud-hosted infrastructures. In 2021 International Conference on Emerging Smart Computing and Informatics (ESCI) (pp. 737-742). IEEE.
- Gayathri, S., Balasubramaniam, T., & Saranya, G. (2023). Zero Trust Architecture and Moving Target Defense in Cloud Computing: A Systematic Review. In 2023 International Conference on Computer Communication and Informatics (ICCCI) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
- He, L., Huang, H., Wu, F., Choo, K. K. R., & Wang, Q. (2022). Public cloud storage systems: attacks, intrusion detection, and intrusion prevention. ACM Computing Surveys, 55(1), 1-37.
- Kang, Y., Chen, Z., & Zhu, L. (2023). Zero Trust Security: Concepts, Principles, and Practice. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials.
- Lambrinoudakis, C. (2017). Cloud computing security. In Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, Fourth Edition (pp. 5215-5224). IGI Global.
- Mehraj, T. (2020). Zero trust security model for cloud computing. PhD research proposal.
- Paul, S., & Rao, A. R. (2022). Zero trust architecture for smart manufacturing. In 2022 IEEE 19th International Conference on Smart Communities: Improving Quality of Life Using ICT, IoT and AI (HONET) (pp. 109-113). IEEE.
- Sarkar, S., Chatterjee, S., & Misra, S. (2022). Zero trust networking in 6G-enabled massive IoT: A comprehensive survey. IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 9(22), 22494-22517.
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content. |
© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Copyright: This open access article is published under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, which permit the free download, distribution, and reuse, provided that the author and preprint are cited in any reuse.
