In early October, Citrix Systems Inc. announced a new Secure Private Access Service for its SASE portfolio. It is designed to provide a cloud delivered Zero Trust Network Access platform that is transparent to the user and guards against unwarranted intrusion regardless of where someone may be working.

The latest Citrix solution was a recognition that zero trust has continued to be an important principle for the cybersecurity world in the aftermath of a global pandemic that reshaped core security practices and techniques for both users and threat actors alike.

“During the pandemic, things were happening simultaneously, leaving these open vectors for the attack surface to be that much more heightened,” said Shira Rubinoff (pictured), co-founder and president of Prime Tech Partners. “Zero trust is limited access, knowledge of who gets in and why, their need to get in. Zero trust is a very key component, one that Citrix is very focused on as well.”

Rubinoff spoke with Dave Nicholson, host of SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming video studio theCUBE, as part of the new Citrix Launchpad Series. They discussed the importance of maintaining personal cyber hygiene against attacks and greater sharing of threat intelligence by the private sector. (* Disclosure below.)

Drop in personal security

Rubinoff, who is also the author of “Cyber Minds,” a look at cybersecurity across cloud, data, AI and blockchain, believes that organizations responded well to the events of 2020, which required a rapid shift to a remote work model. Yet, personal cybersecurity hygiene did not rise to the occasion, as people prioritized the need for information from any source over safety.

“People were giving over information that could be used to get to know somebody, used to do spear phishing or other types of attacks,” Rubinoff said. “We were taking care of our personal cleanliness, but our cyber hygiene and the psychology of cybersecurity itself took a big dive. Having strong zero trust, not just for organizations, but for yourself, is very important.”

There was another security-related outcome from the pandemic, a positive one in this case. With an increase of the attack surface and a noticeable rise in ransomware and supply chain attacks, portions of the private sector banded together for threat intelligence sharing in ways not seen before 2020.

Last month, FS-ISAC announced that cyberintelligence sharing in the financial services community increased 60% over the past year.

“Because of the shift in sharing of information, some of the largest companies across the world came together to share information about bad actors and attacks, about what to do if something happens,” Rubinoff noted. “It wasn’t each finger on its own; it was a hand working as a whole.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s CUBE Conversations. (* Disclosure: Citrix Systems Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Citrix nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE