The Top 11 Zero Trust Security Solutions
Discover the top Zero Trust Security solutions. Compare key features including user authentication, data segmentation, deployment, and pricing.
Written by Joel Witts
Technical Review by Craig MacAlpine
The Top 11 Zero Trust Security Solutions include:
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Akamai Guardicore Platform
Zero Trust, also referred to as Zero Trust Networks or Zero Trust Architecture, is a security concept with one basic principle: don’t automatically trust anything to access your data, whether it’s connecting from outside your organization or from within. Implementing Zero Trust involves a range of different technologies, policies, and processes that help you to better respond to the sophisticated approaches cybercriminals are using to gain access to sensitive data.
The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines Zero Trust security as an “evolving set of cybersecurity paradigms that move defenses from static, network-based perimeters to focus on users, assets, and resources.” Zero Trust is not something that organizations can implement by purchasing one solution, but rather something that is incrementally implemented with a combination of solutions and processes that are underpinned by Zero Trust principles.
As such, Zero Trust solutions included in this list comprise a range of different technologies and processes that authenticate and segment user identity before permitting access to data and network areas. Effective zero Trust architecture will help organizations to gain visibility and ensure access is restricted to the most appropriate users.
We’ve researched the top Zero Trust security solutions, considering key features including authentication methods, policies, monitoring, and reports. We’ve also considered pricing, target markets, and the deployment process, to help you find the right solutions for your organization.
ThreatLocker
ThreatLocker’s Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform locks down your endpoints by analyzing executables, applications, and processes, enforcing a deny-by-default policy unless explicitly allowed. It’s built for businesses determined to block ransomware, malware, and rogue software.
Why We Picked ThreatLocker: We picked ThreatLocker for its robust Zero Trust framework, delivering dynamic network access control. You get precise visibility and management of traffic, with ports auto-regulated to allow only authorized devices—slamming the door on unauthorized access like IoT or shadow IT risks.
ThreatLocker Best Features: Application allowlisting with personalized policies, Ringfencing, which helps you to limit app interactions—like file access or internet reach—Network Control for dynamic traffic rules, Storage Control for file and USB policies, and Elevation Control to manage admin rights seamlessly.
What’s great:
- Deny-by-default blocks zero-day threats instantly
- Ringfencing™ stops trusted apps from being weaponized
- Dynamic network rules lock out unauthorized devices
- Granular storage policies cover USB and media access
- Fast setup and intuitive console with real-time visibility
What to consider:
- Best suited for zero-trust endpoint protection
Pricing: Contact ThreatLocker for details.
Who it’s for: ThreatLocker suits SMBs and enterprises needing tight Zero Trust control, especially those with remote endpoints, IoT exposure, or compliance demands.
NordLayer
NordLayer is a Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) solution that facilitates secure corporate network connections with features like user authentication, network segmentation, and traffic encryption. It caters to teams of any size looking to enhance network security in alignment with zero trust principles.
Why We Picked NordLayer: We appreciate NordLayer’s comprehensive zero trust services, which include a cloud firewall, and its rapid deployment capabilities supported by strong customer service with a dedicated account manager.
NordLayer Best Features: NordLayer offers user authentication through integration with identity providers, network segmentation to control access to specific applications and data, traffic encryption with a ‘Kill Switch’ feature for security, and device monitoring with policies and alerts. It supports Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS, and Linux devices.
What’s great:
- Comprehensive zero trust security suite including a cloud firewall
- Quick deployment and strong customer support
- Enables precise control over user access to applications and data
- Robust traffic encryption with a ‘Kill Switch’ feature
- Monitors and alerts for non-compliant devices
What to consider:
- Best suited for secure remote access connections and firewalls
Pricing: For detailed pricing, visit NordLayer directly.
Who it’s for: NordLayer is ideal for organizations of any size seeking to implement zero trust network access with strong security features and support.
JumpCloud
JumpCloud is an open directory platform that centralizes identity, access, and device management to facilitate a Zero Trust environment. It is designed to help organizations of all sizes secure and manage their IT infrastructure effectively.
Why We Picked JumpCloud: We appreciate JumpCloud’s ability to manage all identities and devices securely, while enforcing single sign-on and other user-focused solutions. Its flexible pricing and comprehensive feature set make it an easy-to-manage platform.
JumpCloud Best Features: Key features include identity and access management, user provisioning and de-provisioning, conditional access policies, single sign-on, just-in-time access provisioning, and mobile device management. JumpCloud supports Windows, Apple, Android, and Linux devices, and integrates with a wide range of third-party IAM solutions.
What’s Great:
- Comprehensive user directory for managing identities and access policies
- Enforces user authentication with conditional access based on business needs
- Supports single sign-on and just-in-time access provisioning
- Manages mobile devices across all endpoint platforms
- Flexible pricing suitable for organizations of all sizes
What to Consider:
- Best suited for secure user authentication and mobile device management
Pricing: For detailed pricing, visit JumpCloud directly.
Who it’s for: JumpCloud is ideal for teams of all sizes seeking a scalable, easy-to-use solution for identity, access, and device management with full user directory capabilities.
Twingate
Twingate is a Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) solution that facilitates secure remote access to applications and IT resources, utilizing granular access controls. It is designed to support teams needing a robust ZTNA solution for enabling remote and hybrid users to securely access corporate applications.
Why We Picked Twingate: We selected Twingate for its ease of setup, modern admin console, and the ability to implement granular access policies. These features simplify the management of secure access for remote workers.
Twingate Best Features: Twingate offers application-based access governance, reducing employee privileges and data breach risks. It integrates with third-party authentication solutions, mapping authorization to employee risk scores. The solution also reduces latency compared to traditional VPNs, improving user experience. Twingate is compatible with MacOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, and Chrome devices.
What’s Great:
- Application-level access control enhances security
- Integration with third-party authentication systems
- Reduces latency for improved user experience
- Easy to set up and manage
- Modern admin console for streamlined operations
What to Consider:
- Best suited for remote access and network security
Pricing: For detailed pricing, contact Twingate directly.
Who it’s for: Twingate is ideal for businesses seeking a ZTNA solution to securely manage remote access for their workforce, particularly those with diverse device ecosystems.
Akamai Guardicore Platform
Akamai Guardicore Platform is a Zero Trust solution that secures network assets across on-premises and cloud environments. It integrates microsegmentation, Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), multi-factor authentication (MFA), and threat hunting into a unified system.
Why We Picked Akamai Guardicore Platform: We appreciate its comprehensive approach, combining microsegmentation with ZTNA to minimize lateral attack risks. It also offers robust access controls based on user authentication and device posture.
Akamai Guardicore Platform Best Features: Key features include microsegmentation, ZTNA, MFA, DNS firewall, threat hunting, and AI-driven security. It supports Windows and Linux, and works in on-premises or virtualized container environments. Integrations include seamless compatibility with existing network infrastructures.
What’s great:
- Reduces complexity by integrating multiple security functions into one platform
- Applies the principle of least privilege to network segments
- Grants access based on user authentication, device posture, and contextual factors
- Blocks malicious DNS queries to prevent communication with harmful domains
- Backed by Akamai, a leading global security company
What to consider:
- May require significant initial setup for complex network environments
Pricing: For detailed pricing, contact Akamai directly.
Who it’s for: Akamai Guardicore Platform is best suited for large enterprises seeking a comprehensive network security solution with integrated identity and network controls.
Cisco Duo Premier
DuoPremier is a VPN-less network access solution that integrates multi-factor authentication (MFA), single sign-on (SSO), passwordless authentication, and endpoint management. It provides secure access to resources at both the network and endpoint level for enterprise organizations.
Why We Picked DuoPremier: We like that DuoPremier is easy to use and supports a wide range of authentication options, including a device health and visibility module that enhances security.
DuoPremier Best Features: DuoPremier offers MFA with FIDO2 support, SSO, passwordless authentication, and directory sync for all users and devices. The Duo Network Gateway enables secure access to internal web applications without VPNs, from any device or browser worldwide. It also provides granular access control per application, SSH servers, and user groups. Integrations include Active Directory Domain Services, AirWatch, Cisco MSP, Cisco Meraki, and more.
What’s great:
- Comprehensive all-in-one IAM and ZTNA solution
- Easy to use with wide authentication support
- Device health and visibility module
- Secure remote connectivity for on-prem, hybrid, and cloud applications
What to consider:
- Best suited for user authentication and identity and access management
Pricing: Contact DuoPremier directly for pricing information.
Who it’s for: DuoPremier is best suited for enterprise organizations seeking an integrated user authentication and zero-trust remote access solution to secure resources at both the network and endpoint level.
Check Point SASE
CheckPoint SASE is a comprehensive cloud-delivered ZTNA platform that provides full mesh connectivity, fast and secure internet access, and rapid deployment. It is designed to secure networks and resources for organizations of all sizes.
Why We Picked CheckPoint SASE: We appreciate CheckPoint’s granular admin policies and its seamless integration with a range of CheckPoint solutions, including a SWG for web content filtering and malware protection.
CheckPoint SASE Best Features: Key features include full mesh connectivity, fast and secure internet access, granular admin policies, and ongoing monitoring for activity and logins. It supports all devices, including Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android, and offers agentless deployment for unmanaged devices. Integrations include cloud environments, on-prem firewalls, and major SSO identity providers.
What’s great:
- Granular admin policies for detailed access control
- Easy to manage and deploy
- Seamless integration with other CheckPoint solutions
- Supports all devices and agentless deployment
- Global, high-performance backbone for fast connections
What to consider:
- Best suited for enteprise network security and remote access
Pricing: For pricing details, contact CheckPoint directly.
Who it’s for: CheckPoint SASE is ideal for organizations of all sizes seeking a robust, easy-to-deploy ZTNA solution to secure their networks and resources.
Microsoft Entra Private Access
Microsoft Entra Private Access is a Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) solution that integrates with Microsoft’s identity and access management controls. It replaces traditional VPNs and implements adaptive authentication policies for all users.
Why We Picked Microsoft Entra Private Access: We like that Microsoft offers a secure and scalable solution that integrates ZTNA with its suite of adaptive identity services, including adaptive, conditional MFA and SSO.
Microsoft Entra Private Access Best Features: Features include secure connections for remote users to applications from any device or network, real-time monitoring, comprehensive reporting, visibility, enterprise MFA and SSO with adaptive conditional policies, and conditional access policies per application. Integrations include seamless compatibility with Microsoft’s ecosystem, including biometrics, and microsegmentation at the user, process, or device level. The client is available for Windows and Android, with iOS and Mac support in public preview.
What’s great:
- Connects remote users to apps quickly, securely, and seamlessly
- Enforces enterprise MFA and SSO with adaptive policies
- Offers real-time monitoring and comprehensive reporting
- Integrates with familiar Microsoft ecosystem
- Supports microsegmentation for enhanced security
What to consider:
- iOS and Mac support are currently in public preview
- Best suited for businesses tied into the Microsoft ec0system
Pricing: For pricing details, contact Microsoft directly.
Who it’s for: Microsoft Entra Private Access is ideal for teams looking to replace VPNs with ZTNA and roll out adaptive authentication policies for all users, especially those already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem.
OKTA Workforce Identity Cloud
OKTA Workforce Identity Cloud is a comprehensive identity and access management solution that enables organizations to manage access to systems and applications, adhering to Zero-Trust security principles. It is designed for mid-sized and large enterprises, offering robust tools for secure workforce identity management.
Why We Picked OKTA Workforce Identity Cloud: We appreciate OKTA’s seamless Single Sign-On (SSO) and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), which simplify user authentication across applications. Additionally, OKTA’s extensive range of integrations, policies, and controls support organizational growth and enhance security.
OKTA Workforce Identity Cloud Best Features: Key features include SSO, a universal user directory, server access controls, phishing-resistant and adaptive MFA, and device management with automated user onboarding and offboarding. It implements the principle of least privilege across all users, ensuring access to the appropriate applications. OKTA supports cloud, on-premise, and hybrid deployments, and integrates with over 7,000 third-party applications for user authentication and SSO.
What’s great:
- Easy-to-use SSO and MFA functionality
- Extensive integrations for admins and developers
- Supports the principle of least privilege
- Automated user onboarding and offboarding
- Compatibility with cloud, on-premise, and hybrid environments
What to consider:
- Best suited for mid-sized and enteprise IAM deployments
Pricing: For pricing details, contact OKTA directly.
Who it’s for: OKTA Workforce Identity Cloud is best suited for mid-sized and large organizations looking for a robust identity and access management solution that supports growth and adheres to Zero-Trust security principles.
Ping Identity PingOne for Workforce
PingOne for Workforce is a cloud-based identity and access management solution that offers adaptive user authentication and single sign-on capabilities. It provides a unified admin portal to streamline and secure the login process for both employees and administrators.
Why we picked PingOne for Workforce: We appreciate its modern, user-friendly interface and the ability to configure granular adaptive access policies that align with zero trust architecture.
PingOne for Workforce Standout Features: Key features include adaptive authentication, single sign-on for enterprise applications, mobile app support, and automated user provisioning and deprovisioning. The platform integrates with a wide range of SaaS, legacy, on-premises, and custom applications.
What’s Great:
- Enables robust adaptive authentication policies for zero trust security
- Supports seamless single sign-on across various applications and devices
- Offers automated user lifecycle management
- User-friendly interface simplifies administration
What to Consider:
- Best suited for identity and access management workflows
Pricing: For detailed pricing information, contact Ping Identity directly.
Best suited for: PingOne for Workforce is ideal for teams of any size, especially large enterprises integrating identity and access management into their zero trust security framework.
Prove Pinnacle
ProvePinnacle is an identity verification solution that uses machine learning and cryptographic authentication to provide accurate, privacy-preserving onboarding. It is particularly effective for e-commerce and financial sectors, where secure and efficient user verification is crucial.
Why We Picked ProvePinnacle: We value ProvePinnacle for its ease of use and speed, essential for a seamless user onboarding experience. Its robust verification process leverages real-time signals and cryptographic keys for secure authentication.
ProvePinnacle Best Features: Key features include cryptographic key issuance for SIM cards or FIDO tokens, real-time signal-based identity verification, passwordless authentication via biometrics or push notifications, and ProvePre-Fill for automated form population. It integrates via API and is cloud-based, ensuring compatibility across various platforms.
What’s great:
- Fast and modern platform enhances user experience
- Real-time, robust identity verification
- Supports zero trust strategies with cryptographic authentication
- Reduces onboarding friction with ProvePre-Fill
- Enables passwordless authentication
What to consider:
- Best for mobile-based verification methods
- A strong option for customer and user onboarding for e-commerce
Pricing: For detailed pricing, contact ProvePinnacle directly.
Who it’s for: ProvePinnacle is ideal for organizations in e-commerce and finance that prioritize secure, efficient user verification and authentication. It suits teams focused on enhancing their zero trust security frameworks.
Other Zero Trust Services
Cloud-native platform enforcing least-privilege access across users and apps.
Delivers ZTNA and secure access via a unified SASE platform.
Zero Trust controls for users, devices, and workloads with deep visibility.
Context-aware access to applications and data based on risk.
Secure access to internal apps without a VPN using identity and device posture.
Agentless Zero Trust platform offering secure, context-aware access.
How to Choose the Right Zero Trust Solution?
Selecting the right Zero Trust security solution involves aligning the platform with your organization’s IT environment, security priorities, and compliance requirements. Consider these key steps to make an informed choice:
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Assess Your Infrastructure: Evaluate your network (e.g., on-premises, cloud, hybrid), endpoints, and applications to ensure the solution supports your ecosystem and addresses risks like ransomware or insider threats.
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Define Security and Compliance Goals: Identify key objectives, such as enforcing least-privilege access, meeting standards (e.g., GDPR, NIST 800-207), or reducing attack surfaces, to prioritize features like ZTNA or IAM.
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Prioritize Scalability and Integration: Choose a platform that scales with your workforce or cloud adoption and integrates with existing tools (e.g., SIEM, EDR) to maintain visibility and streamline operations.
Focus on critical features to ensure robust security and manageability:
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Identity and Access Management (IAM): Look for solutions with adaptive MFA, SSO, and conditional access policies (e.g., Okta’s identity-driven security, Microsoft Entra ID’s passwordless options) to enforce continuous verification.
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Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA): Prioritize platforms with application-specific access, hiding resources from unauthorized users (e.g., Twingate’s SDP model, Zscaler’s direct-to-app connectivity) to replace legacy VPNs.
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Microsegmentation and Encryption: Ensure network segmentation and end-to-end encryption (e.g., Akamai Guardicore’s microsegmentation, NordLayer’s Kill Switch) to limit lateral movement and secure data in transit.
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Continuous Monitoring and Analytics: Verify real-time user behavior analytics and threat detection (e.g., CrowdStrike’s endpoint analytics, Palo Alto’s AI-driven inspections) to identify anomalies and automate responses.
Balance functionality with usability to maximize adoption and efficiency:
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User-Friendly Interface: Avoid complex platforms that burden teams, opting for intuitive dashboards and easy setup (e.g., Perimeter 81’s cloud-native SASE, JumpCloud’s unified console) to enhance usability.
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Vendor Support Quality: Select providers with 24/7 support, detailed documentation, and resources like training or forums (e.g., NordLayer’s dedicated managers) to assist with deployment and optimization.
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Testing and Trials: Use demos, free trials (e.g., offered by Twingate or NordLayer), or independent user reviews to validate performance, integration, and fit before committing.
Summary and Key Takeaways
Our guide to the leading Zero Trust security solutions provides a comprehensive overview of platforms designed to enforce continuous verification, least-privilege access, and granular segmentation across modern IT environments. The article evaluates tools based on features like adaptive IAM, ZTNA, microsegmentation, and real-time analytics, catering to organizations of all sizes. It emphasizes balancing robust security, scalability, and usability to protect cloud, on-premises, or hybrid infrastructures, reduce attack surfaces, and ensure compliance in a landscape where traditional perimeter-based defenses are obsolete.
Key Takeaways:
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Continuous Verification: Top solutions enforce “never trust, always verify” with adaptive MFA, SSO, and device posture checks to secure users and endpoints.
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Reduced Attack Surface: Choose platforms with ZTNA and microsegmentation to hide applications and limit lateral movement, replacing vulnerable VPNs.
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Compliance and Efficiency: Prioritize tools with automated analytics and compliance reporting to meet GDPR, HIPAA, or NIST standards while streamlining SOC operations.
What Do You Think?
We’ve explored the leading Zero Trust security solutions, highlighting how these tools protect organizations with identity-driven access, network segmentation, and continuous monitoring. Now, we’d love to hear your perspective—what’s your experience with Zero Trust platforms? Are features like ZTNA, adaptive MFA, or AI-driven analytics critical for your organization’s security strategy?
Selecting the right Zero Trust solution can transform how you secure your digital assets, but challenges like integration complexity or user friction can arise. Have you found a standout platform that’s strengthened your security posture, or encountered hurdles with scalability or usability? Share your insights to help other organizations navigate the Zero Trust landscape and choose the best tool for their needs.
Let us know which solution you recommend to help us improve our list!
FAQs
Zero Trust Security: Everything You Need To Know (FAQs)
The zero Trust model is a security strategy that recommends not trusting any users, devices, or systems within your network, until they have been authenticated to be genuine.
In practice, this means continuous authentication of internal users and devices to reduce potential security risks, alongside enforcing the principle of least privilege. This ensures that users and systems only have access to the specific applications they need for the prescribed function of their job role.
It’s important to note that Zero Trust is not a ‘type’ of security solution (although many vendors have evolved their product suites to fit the Zero Trust model and now advertise their solutions as ‘Zero Trust’ services) but is a philosophy for how to approach security and verify access. Zero Trust can only be achieved by using a combination of technologies, including continuous authentication, network segmentation, network access control, and user management. As such the above list covers solutions that span these categories and can help organizations on their Zero Trust journey.
Zero Trust architecture is becoming increasingly adopted by both vendors and organizations looking to improve endpoint security and control access. As cyber-crime has continued to become more advanced and targeted, many organizations have opted to adopt zero trust strategies to secure their network. Organizations are adopting more complex network environments with the rise of cloud applications. As users have shifted from the office to hybrid ways of working, the threat landscape has become much more dynamic.
All these factors, in addition to others, have led the traditional perimeter-based security approach – which assumes everything outside the network is a security risk, while everything inside is secure – to become outdated when faced with the complexity of the modern cyber-threat landscape.
This has led many analysts, governments, and regulatory bodies to recommend organizations look to a Zero Trust to improve resilience. After the Colonial Pipeline cyber-attack of May 2021, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order mandating that all federal agencies implement a “Zero Trust” architecture and urged private organizations to do the same.
Zero Trust Software is a broad term to describe solutions that enable organizations to implement a Zero Trust approach into their network security strategies. This can include multiple different features and tools, such as network microsegmentation, user privileges management, Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), and identity controls such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) and Single Sign-On (SSO) which ensures users are continuously verified and monitored.
The Zero Trust strategy we know today was designed in 2010 by John Kindervag, who was the Principal Analyst for global research firm Forrester. But the concept goes back almost 15 years earlier than that, when it was coined by Stephen Paul March in his doctoral thesis on computational cybersecurity.
Zero Trust networks were seen as the ideal, but difficult to execute and measure. Starting in 2009, Google began working on “BeyondCorp”, it’s implementation of the Zero Trust architecture, working alongside Forrester’s analyst.
In the following decade, Zero Trust security became increasingly prevalent, especially with the rise of smartphones, cloud-based technologies and software-as-a-service. By 2019, Gartner was recommending that businesses implement Zero-Trust solutions as a component of their security strategy.
Today, almost all of the leading IT providers have adopted a Zero Trust Security model for their solutions, and many cybersecurity vendors offer Zero Trust Security solutions for their enterprise and SMB customers.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting move to home working for much of the world’s population has accelerated the need and business drive to implement Zero Trust Security. In Forrester’s ‘Zero Trust Security Playbook’, they recommended Zero Trust Security as the best way to unify network and security infrastructure, while protecting a remote workforce.
In the modern workplace, applications and data are not centralized in one location. Instead, people, devices and connections are spread out and each employee holds the key to multiple points of entry to your business data.
To ensure that only trusted users can access systems, security processes typically require users to verify their identity with a username and password, and perhaps a secondary form of identification, like a biometric scan or a randomly generated one-time passcode.
However, this alone is not enough to protect against data breaches. Social engineering attacks such as phishing and spear-phishing, and the increasing threat of data breaches from insiders, mean that you cannot assume anyone connected to your network is safe.
The average cost of being hit with a data breach in 2020 was $3.86 million USD according to the Ponemon Institute, with 52% of data breaches caused by a malicious cyberattack.
Zero Trust Security solutions help to mitigate against data breaches, by allowing organizations to continuously monitor network activity and automatically detect suspicious user behavior, prompting users to give further verification if needed, or preventing them from accessing certain software.
Zero Trust solutions can also help you to better manage user permissions, as one of the central components of a Zero Trust security model is that users should only ever have access to the data they absolutely need to – and data should be as segmented as possible to avoid widespread data breaches.
As we mentioned previously, Zero Trust security solutions don’t necessarily refer to any specific types of technology, security tool, or type of product. Instead, it refers to a range of holistic technologies and processes, designed to help organizations reduce the risk of data breaches by managing user identities and minimizing individual access to data.
There are a range of cybersecurity technologies that can help organizations to implement a Zero Trust security solution. Products and technologies that are designed to help organizations to achieve these aims can be categorized as Zero Trust Security Solutions.
These technologies include multifactor authentication (MFA), VPNs, identity and access management, data encryption, privileged access management, user permissions and adaptive authentication for users.
These solutions are designed to govern user access, ensuring that only verified users can access your systems, and continuously validating their identity, rather than giving everyone with a password access to your systems. These solutions also help to monitor user traffic and behavior, and can help to segment your network – splitting access to different departments and individual users into groups to limit user access to sensitive data.
It’s likely that your organization is already using one or more of these technologies to govern access to data; they are critical to staying protected against sophisticated cybersecurity threats.
As implementing Zero-Trust Networks have been recommended widely across the security industry, many vendors have launched Zero Trust security solutions, designed to help organizations to implement the technologies they need to stay secure.
If you’re considering implementing a Zero Trust Security solution for your organization, there are a number of key features, you should look for.
User Authentication And Access Management
The first and one of the most important features is user authentication and access management. This compromises a broad set of features and technologies that allow you to continuously verify user permissions and prevent unauthorized users from gaining access to your data.
In a typical security environment, once a user has logged into their account, they would be able to access any data within it as long as they remained authorized to do so. With systems like adaptive authentication in place, user behavior is continuously monitored, and if any unusual activity is detected, users are prompted to verify their identity with additional factors, which can include biometric controls and one-time-passcodes. This is most commonly implemented as multifactor authentication.
This means if users attempt to access data when they are in unusual locations, outside of working hours, or on new devices, they will be asked for additional levels of verifications to limit the risk of data breaches and successful phishing attacks.
Policy Enforcement And Network Segmentation
The second important feature to look for is the ability to create policies and segment data to limit the risk of data loss. One of the central philosophies underpinning Zero Trust is segmenting data and access to that data – to limit the extent of data breaches in the case of unauthorized access.
Zero Trust solutions can help you to implement this, by allowing your admins to create systems, processes and policies to govern who has access to data, where data is stored, create groups and departments, and restrict access on an individual user level.
This is a crucial set of features to minimize the risk of phishing and account compromise. It limits the amount of data that any malicious users can access if they are able to breach you company accounts and gives your IT admins important control over data access and user privileges.
Reporting And Monitoring Of Traffic And User Behavior
The final feature to look for in Zero Trust security solution is an extensive range of reports and automated alerting when suspicious user behavior is detected. This is important both to proactively detect any signs of account compromise or malicious network activity.
It’s important that your Zero Trust security solutions provide detailed visibility into users, devices and components across your entire network environment, so you can better react to threats and track security risks.
The best solutions will provide detailed logs, reports and automate alerts that detail who has accessed data, alert you to suspicious behavior and give you the tools you need to better detect and respond to threats.
Despite the emergence of a number of technologies and solutions designed to help you shift to a Zero Trust security approach, it’s important to remember that Zero Trust is a process designed to work across your entire network infrastructure.
The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in its 2020 standards for Zero Trust architecture, defines Zero Trust as an “evolving set of cybersecurity paradigms that move defenses from static, network-based perimeters to focus on users, assets, and resources.”
In their report, they outline that “Implementing a ZTA is a journey rather than a wholesale replacement of infrastructure or processes. An organization should seek to incrementally implement zero trust principles, process changes, and technology solutions that protect its highest value data assets.”
NIST outlines seven steps for organizations looking to implement Zero Trust Security solutions. These are:
- Identifying Actors on The Enterprise.
- Identifying Assets on The Enterprise.
- Identifying Key Processes and Evaluate Risks Associated with Executing Process.
- Formulating Policies for the ZTA Candidate.
- Identifying Candidate Solutions.
- Initial Deployment and Monitoring.
- Expanding the ZTA.
You can read NIST’s full 2020 report for establishing Zero Trust in your organization here: https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-207.pdf
“It’s no secret that Zero Trust can be a journey and there is no magic switch to “turn it on” overnight. That being said, we recommend customers build a thoughtful plan before getting started with their Zero Trust approach.
“Similarly, implementing Zero Trust is not just about a product roadmap: it’s also about identifying use cases and prioritizing your deployment. For instance, we recommend customers first take stock of what is currently being accessed so they can identify what needs to be secured most urgently.
“This way, you can choose and prioritize sets of user groups and applications. Once you have this list, you can deploy sequentially – there is no need to try and boil the ocean at once. A phased approach like this – specific sets of users and applications across your core use cases – can also help you break down the change management aspect that is crucial to any large-scale IT project.”
We researched lots of Zero Trust solutions while we were making this guide. Here are a few other tools that are worth your consideration:
Written By
Joel Witts is the Content Director at Expert Insights, meaning he oversees all articles published and topics covered. He is an experienced journalist and writer, specialising in identity and access management, Zero Trust, cloud business technologies, and cybersecurity. Joel is a co-host of the Expert Insights Podcast and conducts regular interviews with leading B2B tech industry experts, including directors at Microsoft and Google. Joel holds a First Class Honours degree in Journalism from Cardiff University.
Technical Review
Craig MacAlpine is CEO and Founder of Expert Insights. Before founding Expert Insights in August 2018, Craig spent 10 years as CEO and founder of EPA Cloud, an email security provider that rebranded as VIPRE Email Security following its acquisition by Ziff Davies, formerly J2Global (NASQAQ: ZD) in 2013. Craig is a passionate security innovator with over 20 years of experience helping organizations to stay secure with cutting-edge information security and cybersecurity solutions. Using his extensive experience in the email security industry, he founded Expert Insights with the singular goal of helping IT professionals and CISOs to cut through the noise and find the right cybersecurity solutions they need to protect their organizations.