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What is Zero Trust Security?
Trust no one.
Zero Trust is a security model based on the premise that no one should be blindly trusted inside the network and allowed to access anything until they have been validated as legitimate and authorized. It supports the implementation of ‘least privilege access’, which is designed to selectively grant access to only the resources that users or groups of users require, nothing more.
Zero Trust was conceived primarily in response to the rapid rise of mobile and remote workers, the bring your own devices (BYOD) trend, shadow IT, and the rapid rise of cloud services. While these trends benefited users and brought new levels of flexibility to IT, they also reduced the ability of the organization to control and secure access to data and network resources. Zero Trust brings this control back, tightening up security in the face of a dissolving network perimeter.
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.
Fast answers to common
ZTNA questions
In a nutshell, what is Zero Trust?
Why has it taken 10 years for Zero Trust to catch on?
What is ZTNA?
What is SDP?
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.
Modern secure remote access
Netskope is a proven leader in the cloud access security broker (CASB) industry and extends that leadership and innovation into Zero Trust and beyond. The Netskope ZTNA cloud-native solution provides secure access to applications in hybrid IT environments while reducing the “appliance sprawl” of legacy point-to-point access solutions like VPNs. The solution is called Netskope Private Access, and it provides secure access to applications in AWS, Azure, and Google public clouds, as well as on-premises data centers.
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.
ZTNA top must-have capabilities
Zero trust access to corporate applications
Protects data and network resources with application-level access control, based on user identity, group membership, and device security posture.
Direct multi-network access without hairpinning
Allows access to private applications in the cloud and in the data center seamlessly without the latency of routing traffic through the corporate network.
Authorization before connection
Authenticates and authorizes users and devices before connecting them to any IT services or applications.
Protection of internal resources
Blocks inbound access to physical or virtual networks and shield internal corporate resources from outside threats.
Support for any application, protocol, and device
Enables transparent, secure access to data and resources with browsers, apps or native clients on Windows, Mac, and iOS.
Seamless, transparent user experience
Provides users simultaneous, consistent secure access to enterprise private applications in public clouds and data centers.
No hardware or network changes
Simplifies rather than complicates IT operations and integrates with existing IAM and SIEM solutions.
Zero Trust predictions and insights from Gartner
80%
of new digital business applications will be accessed through ZTNA
60%
of enterprises will phase out most of their remote access VPNs in favor of ZTNA
Resources
Getting Started with Zero Trust
As technologists, many of us like to play with tools; especially when we discover a cool new feature of some product. We immediately look for a use case, then try to persuade our leaders to buy it so we can implement it. While this has often helped advance security programs or controls, it is also how we created a massive technology debt and complexity over the years.
Read more Reimagine your perimeter.
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