5 Zero Trust Tips for Retailers and Manufacturers From Brooks Running

Achieving Zero Trust can be overwhelming when it’s discussed in absolute terms. So, what does Zero Trust actually look like in the real world, and how can organizations get there?

World-famous shoe retailer, Brooks Running, is a brilliant example of a business implementing Zero Trust controls in a practical way to protect their retail operations.  

“In almost everything we do, we think about how we can go towards Zero Trust,” explained Ryan Fried, Senior Security Engineer at Brooks and recent guest on The Segment: A Zero Trust Leadership Podcast. “But actual Zero Trust is really hard to do, and I think it’s really intimidating.”  

That’s why Ryan says Brooks’ security team is working towards Zero-ish Trust.  

“How do I make it so that if someone gets hit with ransomware, it can’t affect any other workstations or most other servers? That for me is the Zero-ish Trust perspective,” said Ryan. ‍

The Segment episode 9: Ryan Fried, Senior Information Security Engineer

In this episode, I sit down with Ryan to discuss the role of cybersecurity in the manufacturing and retail sectors, building a successful Zero Trust program, and the difference between being compliant and being secure.

Haven’t heard my other episodes with the Zero Trust experts? Listen here.    

At Brooks, Ryan is responsible for overseeing organization-wide security projects from design to completion. Prior to Brooks, he worked as a Security Analyst, Network Engineer, Risk Assessment Manager, and Security Architect at organizations like Coverys and BlueSnap.  

Listen for these top 5 insights from our discussion:

• 6:31: Mapping out your risk exposure
• 10:44: Striking a balance between good security and “good enough”
• 13:03: Compliance in less regulated industries
• 17:22: Being compliant vs. being secure
• 24:22: Zero-ish Trust in action

Read the full episode transcript here.

Listen to the next episode on July 5

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