Zero trust security for the digital workplace

Today, almost every workplace is digital. From healthcare to finance to manufacturing, technology is transforming productivity in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago.

But this shift also creates more opportunities for cybercriminals to access and exploit sensitive data.

As organizations rapidly adopt new tech and pivot to new ways of working, they also expand the number of entry points for attackers.

Relying on traditional security measures is no longer enough because they simply weren’t designed for the modern workplace. To reduce risk, businesses must adapt their security protocols to meet today’s challenges.

One of the most effective ways to improve security is to adopt a zero trust approach. This strategy involves verifying every user and device, regardless of whether they are inside or outside the network.

In this article

• The problem with traditional network security
• The zero trust alternative
• Why is zero trust important in the modern digital workplace?
• TeamViewer Tensor: Zero trust remote access
• How Tensor puts zero trust into action
• Summary

The problem with traditional network security  

For many years, and even still today, IT network security operated on the principle that anything inside the network could be trusted implicitly.

Often referred to as a “castle and moat”, this approach focuses on protecting the castle (the network) with a moat (firewalls, VPNs, authentication, etc.).

But in today’s world, where people, devices, and data live outside company walls, this model no longer works.

The zero trust alternative  

Zero trust flips the old approach on its head. It assumes that a breach will happen and that no user or device can be trusted, even if it’s inside the network.

Ahmed Elattar, Senior Technical Product Marketing Manager at TeamViewer, explains zero trust like this: “Trust must be earned. Only when it’s known for certain that a device or person is authorized is access granted.”

In practice, earning trust means that users automatically start from a position of least privilege, and their access is strictly limited to the resources they need to do their job.

This minimizes network exposure so that if a breach does occur, the attacker only has access to a limited amount of data.

Access isn’t just restricted; it’s also continually monitored and validated. Both users and devices must pass continuous, contextual authentication and validation to maintain access. This includes checks on location, the device being used, the time of access, and user behavior patterns.

In short, zero trust means always verifying and never giving access blindly. It helps organizations limit risk and stay secure as threats continue to evolve.

Why is zero trust important in the modern digital workplace?  

More endpoints mean more risk

As organizations grow, so does the number of devices and services they use. The more endpoints they have, the greater the number of possible attack vectors for cyber criminals.

“Each new laptop, phone, server, and app adds another potential door into the business,” says Elattar.

This growing attack surface, combined with increasingly sophisticated, AI-powered attacks, significantly raises the chances of a cyber breach. According to Check Point, global cyberattacks have risen by 44% in 2025 alone.

With attacks now more common, minimizing their impact is critical. Zero trust helps limit damage by enforcing strict access controls and network segmentation.

And with continuous verification, there’s a much higher likelihood that suspicious activity will be detected quickly, allowing teams to respond before more damage is done.

Borderless networks

Today, more people, devices, data, and apps operate outside the traditional corporate network. The old castle-and-moat approach can’t protect what it no longer sees.

Employees now log in from public WiFi, often on personal devices that the IT team doesn’t manage. As Elattar puts it, “You don’t know what apps people have on their personal devices, or if there’s malware running in the background.”

And attackers are taking advantage. In 2024, over 70% of infected devices were personal, as threat actors targeted bring-your-own-device (BYOD) environments to breach corporate networks.

Zero trust ensures that only verified users on approved devices can access company systems.

Threats from inside

A traditional network security approach assumes that employees, or anyone else with network access, always act in good faith.

But recent research tells us that this is a dangerous assumption.

According to IBM, 83% of organizations reported insider attacks in 2024. Five times the amount recorded in 2023.

Zero trust removes blind trust by holding everyone inside the network to the highest level of scrutiny.

TeamViewer Tensor: Zero trust remote access  

In modern enterprises, remote connections are constantly happening across offices, devices, and time zones. To keep these connections safe, you need remote access software with zero trust built in from the start.

TeamViewer Tensor’s zero trust capabilities can be likened to a secure corporate building where access is tightly controlled throughout.

See the Tensor trust tower

How Tensor puts zero trust into action