Call it cybersecurity’s dirty little secret. Organizations spend tens of billions of dollars every year on prevention and detection tools. They hire hundreds of thousands of skilled security personnel. They strive to comply with every new security framework from standards bodies public and private.
In short, they’re spending more and more of their money, time, and resources on cybersecurity efforts. And they’re getting less and less from it.
In 2023, a stunning 72% of businesses worldwide were hit with at least one ransomware attack. That’s no accident. Organizations are embracing hybrid IT environments that blend on-premises infrastructure with cloud services and remote endpoints. As a result, the attack surface for cybercriminals has swelled. Security teams are working overtime fending off threats; traditional detection tools such as firewalls and intrusion prevention systems (IPS), are nowhere near effective enough in this new reality.
The good news: the Zero Trust model is transforming cybersecurity for the better. Security strategies are moving away from implicit trust assumptions that have governed network access in the past. When threats can emerge from both external and internal sources, the “never trust, always verify” principle is essential.
Zero Trust architecture operates on the assumption that no network segment can be inherently trusted. And that’s true whether it’s coming from within or outside the security perimeter. Zero Trust is a framework that stresses data protection, strict access controls, and continuous verification. Adopting it can greatly reduce the risk of attacker’s lateral movement and keep sensitive data secure.
“Organizations need to operate under the assumption that a breach is inevitable,” said Mario Espinoza, Illumio’s Chief Product Officer. “We can’t stop attackers from getting into an employee’s computer. But with Zero Trust, we can prevent it from becoming a disaster.”
A Security Model Built on Breach Containment
Illumio’s robust Zero Trust strategy ensures that every connection within the network is continuously verified and monitored — and allowing only the necessary ones through. That’s segmentation in a nutshell. Illumio delivers the only Zero Trust Segmentation (ZTS) platform that protects the entire multi-cloud and hybrid infrastructure from potential cyber disasters. It provides complete visibility, AI-generated insights, and enforcement at any scale. Unlike other solutions that add risk and complexity, the enterprise-grade ZTS platform simplifies breach containment. That means defenders can swiftly identify, isolate, and mitigate threats before they escalate.
“ZTS divides your organization into certain zones or segments, hence the name,” Espinoza explained. “These segments prevent anyone from moving freely from one zone to another unless the organization can verify there’s a need for that interaction.”
This targeted segmentation allows security teams to quickly identify high-risk areas and contain ransomware attacks within minutes. The attack is contained before it can cause catastrophic damage.
“In five minutes, a typical ransomware attack can compromise 20,000 servers. It’s a nightmare,” Espinoza said. “Cybersecurity teams can’t react in that amount of time. ZTS is effective because all the channels the ransomware tries to go from one machine to another are blocked from the get-go.”
Breach containment ensures that a ransomware attack is confined to a defined segment of the network. This approach minimizes the potential for widespread data loss and unauthorized access to sensitive data. By quickly isolating affected workloads, Illumio can sharply reduce the likelihood of a breach escalating to catastrophic levels of data exposure. The network is protected, and customers are spared any harm.
The Illumio platform goes beyond traditional security tools. Because it focuses solely on segmentation and mapping, it excels where competitors such as ColorTokens, Akamai, and Cisco often fall short. The Illumio agent runs in user space rather than kernel space. This technical difference keeps operational risks at a minimum and is more reliable across a wide range of environments. At the same time, Illumio’s native integration with public cloud environments and investment in AI and graph technology give the company a distinct edge. It can detect anomalies and threats, adding value beyond basic segmentation.
Automation and AI: The Future of Zero Trust Segmentation
Cyberattacks evolve quickly; AI is only speeding up that process. Attackers are using AI and machine learning models to enhance their methods. But the same technologies can also help security teams deploy new layers of protection to outsmart AI-powered threats.
With AI, we can automate the segmentation process with minimal manual input. Instead of requiring customers to dictate their security strategies, Illumio’s platform can use AI to automatically map out their infrastructure and create protective segments in real time. By integrating many data sources, it can detect attacks as they happen. Defenders get instant threat insights and can simplify the security process for users.
Espinoza envisions a future where AI-driven ZTS can be integrated alongside endpoint detection and response (EDR) controls and other security measures to strengthen defenses. The goal: Help security teams contain breaches more effectively, reduce the time and effort required for segmentation, and address skills gaps that often hinder cybersecurity initiatives.
“We’re in an era where containment, not just detection, is the key to cybersecurity,” Espinoza said. “The future is about automating this process, integrating with AI, and creating a unified security graph that empowers organizations to protect themselves with unprecedented confidence.”
Contain Breaches with Illumio.
