The evolution of the security perimeter:
The world of security has changed. Whereas we used to build fortresses, today we manage a giant hub where hundreds of people come and go, sometimes forgetting to close the door behind them. For CIOs and CISOs, this means one thing: old methods of protection are now as effective as an old guard dog.
Keep reading to find out what you can do to prevent security from becoming a new problem.
A kingdom without walls: the era of “concrete fences” is over
First: let's remember how security used to be built. It resembled a good old private house: a high fence (firewall) and an angry dog on a chain near the gate. If you were inside the yard, you were one of them; you were trusted. If you were outside, you were a suspicious character.
But today, a business no longer looks like a cozy house. Now it is a modern coworking space or a large hotel. Couriers are constantly coming and going (cloud services), employees you don't really know (outsourcing support), and relatives, although everyone has already forgotten which line they are on (remote employees). Trying to protect this “hotel” with just a fence is like putting an armored door in a tent.
Modern IT infrastructure is like having your kitchen in Azure, your bedroom in AWS, and your living room still in the basement of your office (on-premise). And then there's cloud transformation: the process of moving your belongings to a new house but leaving half of them in the old one, losing your keys along the way, and paying rent in both places at the same time. It's logical that, in such an environment, the network perimeter blurs. You can't just “turn off the internet” because your business will shut down faster than you can say “cyber incident.”
In a kingdom without walls, there is no point in burglars climbing through a window. Indeed, why break complex window locks (exploits) when you can just politely ask the owner for the key? Statistics confirm this: 80% of burglaries begin with someone clicking on a “Free Pizza” link or entering a password on a fake page.
Modern hackers aren't about brute force. They're about politely logging into your accounts.
VPN: the key to all doors under the rug
VPNs have long been considered a universal solution. However, in the reality of 2026, VPNs are like giving the keys to your building, apartment, and safe to anyone who says they are “one of us.”
Potential problems:
Thus, trusting someone just because they're connected via VPN is like letting someone into your house because they have the same key you lost last week.
Identity is your new Smart Lock, but…
With walls gone, Identity becomes the new security boundary. It no longer matters where a person is. It matters who they are and what they are allowed to do right now.
Likewise, it's like a modern FaceID system on every door in a house. You can walk into the hallway, but to open the door to the CFO's office, the system has to double-check that it's really you and that someone is not holding you at gunpoint. Metaphorically, of course.
In addition, each “house” has a key that opens everything. These are admin accounts and system scripts. And these keys cannot be lost, because the consequences will be, to put it mildly, tangible. Like, if a regular user can accidentally delete their report, an admin with privileged access can accidentally (or not) delete the entire “house” along with the foundation.
Okay, sure, privileged accounts of system administrators (i.e., security guards with key chains) need to be protected. But our metaphorical building doesn't only have security guards. There are also ordinary residents: accountants, marketers, and managers. We used to think that the guards needed an armored safe for keys (PAM) and that it was enough for the residents to simply lock the doors.
But here's a nuance that is often ignored: an administrator is also a person. When your system engineer administers a server, he is a “guard.” However, when he accesses the vacation application system or logs in to the corporate email, he becomes an ordinary “resident.”
The problem is that he probably has the same password for both the critical server and LinkedIn. Most business users (and, to be honest, admins too) store their passwords in a way that would embarrass hackers for being such easy prey.
For example:
Zero Trust: trust but check passports every 5 minutes
Effective way out of the situation—Zero Trust. And no, it's not about diving headfirst into paranoia. It's about basic hygiene. You don't trust anyone on the network by default and ask them to prove their reliability.
The current strategy (unfortunately or fortunately) looks like this: ● Recognize that the “perimeter” no longer exists ● Emphasize identity security ● Implement an appropriate solution as a foundation to prevent your keys from becoming a weapon in the hands of the enemy
Cybersecurity isn't about keeping everyone out. But you need to know for sure that whoever gets in has every right to be there and won't walk off with your TV under their arm.
CyberArk is all-in-one
CyberArk's solution works like an elite concierge service for your most important accesses.
It doesn't hand over the keys. Instead, you gain access to the system without even knowing the password.
It records everything on video. You always know what the “repairman” did in your server room.
It only grants access for “20 minutes.” Done the job—give the rights back (just in time).
CyberArk is more than just PAM. Within a single license, the solution turns your “home” into a smart fortress for everyone:
Simply put, instead of putting individual locks on doors and windows, CyberArk deploys a holistic ecosystem to protect your “home.”
This is the only platform that protects both the privileged admin and the ordinary manager. After all, a hacker doesn't care who to start with—the owner of the house or someone who just came to water the flowers.