What is Zero Trust Security?

Benefits of Zero Trust

Implementing a Zero Trust model protects private applications and network assets, while drastically reducing risks from malicious insiders and compromised accounts.

When designing a Zero Trust strategy for remote access to an environment, it is commonly referred to as zero trust network access (ZTNA). A ZTNA solution offers the following capabilities:

• Efficiently secures remote user access
• Protects sensitive data and intellectual property
• Ensures strong authentication
• Implements effective resource access governance
• Reduces breach potential and damages
• Supports compliance audit initiatives
• Accelerates a transition to the cloud
• Transforms security – initiating VPN replacements and adopting software-defined solutions

Most enterprise organizations are adopting a Zero Trust model to provide both full visibility and control over users and devices that have access to a growing number of cloud applications and data services. This includes both managed applications within an enterprise’s ecosystem as well as unmanaged applications used by lines of business and individuals within the enterprise.

A cloud-first security mindset

The zero trust model is here to stay, but it requires a new, cloud-first security mindset and approach to implement. Thanks to the growth of remote workers and the adoption of cloud environments, network-centric strategies are simply not as effective as they once were at mitigating cybersecurity threats. The new dynamic nature and requirements of these remote users and dynamic cloud environments challenge legacy security architectures from every angle.

With the exploding number of remote workers needing access to corporate data and resources and the increase in private apps hosted in public clouds, organizations are finding their security perimeter must extend far beyond the four walls of their enterprise. This means legacy access control approaches are inadequate – they can’t keep data safe from unauthorized use or protect against modern, elusive threats that are increasingly sophisticated and targeted.

Luckily, zero trust technologies have been maturing to address these new requirements. Zero trust essentially adopts a “default-deny” approach to security that requires all users and devices attempting access to be verified first. New cloud-based zero trust network access solutions are highly scalable and give users safe access to applications, as opposed to the network, to effectively protect private applications and data from breaches or misuse.

Zero Trust requires multi-level integration

To be effective in today’s cloud-first, increasingly mobile and distributed environments, Zero Trust solutions must blend a wide array of capabilities and technologies, from Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), to Identity and Access Management (IAM), to encryption, to scoring, to file system permissions and more.

Netskope Private Access is specifically designed to support diverse environments as a cloud-native ZTNA solution. It combines comprehensive access policy management, compliance assessment, integration with existing IAM and security information and event management (SIEM) solutions; and it supports any application, and any protocol – to simplify network and security operations.

The solution also provides extended protection through integration with the Netskope Next Generation Secure Web Gateway (NG SWG), which is comprised of several integrated cloud-native technologies, including an inline CASB, data loss prevention (DLP), SWG, and advanced threat protection (ATP). This allows the offering to be uniquely capable of providing unified visibility and protection of hybrid-cloud environments and enhancing latency-sensitive security functions such as DLP and ATP.

Simply put, Netskope Private Access provides a next generation approach to Zero Trust accessibility, for any app, in any environment.