ILTA Master Class: Zero-Trust Data Governance: Aligning Information Governance & Security Strategy

Zero-trust principles are reshaping cybersecurity strategy across the legal sector. The assumption that internal systems, users, or data sources can be implicitly trusted is no longer valid. Continuous verification, strict access controls, and granular monitoring are becoming standard practice.

We will explore how zero-trust thinking must extend beyond networks into the data itself. For CIOs, this means embedding governance into the core of security architecture.

Key areas of focus include:

• Applying zero-trust principles to data classification and access control
• Governing AI-generated or externally sourced data with uncertain provenance
• Strengthening metadata and lineage to support verification
• Continuous monitoring of high-value and sensitive data assets
• Reducing lateral risk through structured data segmentation
• Integrating governance policies directly into security controls

The session positions information governance as a structural component of zero-trust security — ensuring that data integrity, authenticity, and appropriate access are actively enforced rather than assumed.