Description: Trust evaluation is the process of assessing the reliability of a system or entity, fundamental in the field of cybersecurity. This process involves analyzing various factors that determine the security and integrity of systems, especially in digital environments where information is vulnerable to attacks. Today, trust evaluation is applied in multiple areas, such as cloud security, where the ability of providers to protect sensitive data is assessed; in public key infrastructure, which ensures the authenticity of communications; and in the Zero Trust security model, which assumes that no entity, internal or external, is trustworthy by default. Additionally, in the context of IoT security, trust evaluation becomes crucial due to the proliferation of connected devices that can be entry points for threats. Zero trust in cloud environments also relies on this principle, where continuous verification of identity and access is required. Finally, identity and access management focuses on ensuring that only authorized individuals have access to resources, which is also based on a rigorous trust evaluation.
History: Trust evaluation has evolved with the development of cybersecurity since the 1970s, when the first computer security systems began to emerge. With the rise of the Internet in the 1990s, the need to assess trust in systems and networks became critical. In 2004, the concept of ‘Zero Trust’ was introduced by John Kindervag, who proposed that organizations should not trust any entity by default, leading to a more rigorous approach to trust evaluation. Since then, trust evaluation has been an essential component of information security, adapting to new technologies and threats.
Uses: Trust evaluation is used in various applications, such as validating cloud service providers, authenticating users in identity and access management systems, and implementing security policies in IoT environments. It is also fundamental in creating public key infrastructures, where verifying the authenticity of the keys used in data encryption is required. In the Zero Trust model, it is applied to ensure that every access to resources is verified and authorized, regardless of the user’s location.
Examples: An example of trust evaluation is the security audit process that companies conduct before selecting a cloud service provider. Another case is the implementation of multi-factor authentication in identity management systems, where user trust is evaluated through multiple verification methods. In the IoT space, devices can be evaluated based on their ability to meet security standards before being integrated into a network. Finally, in a Zero Trust environment, every access attempt to a resource undergoes a trust evaluation that includes identity verification and access context.
