Series X Part 3

Traditional security models operated on the principle of "trust but verify" and focused on perimeter defense. Zero Trust flips this paradigm with a simple principle: never trust, always verify.

Core Principles

Zero Trust is built on several foundational ideas:

Assume Breach

Zero Trust architectures operate under the assumption that attackers are already present within the network.

Verify Explicitly

Every access request must be fully authenticated, authorized, and encrypted:

1. Strong identity verification for all users
2. Device health validation
3. Just-in-time and just-enough access
4. Context-aware policies

Implementation Strategies

Moving to Zero Trust requires systematic changes:

Identity as the Control Plane

Modern security centers on identity rather than network location:

# Example access policy
resources:
  - id: financial-dashboard
    access_rules:
      - condition:
          user:
            groups: ["finance-team"]
            authentication:
              mfa: required
          device:
            compliance: verified
            encryption: enabled
          context:
            location: approved
            risk_score: low
        permission: allow

Micro-Segmentation

Network security shifts from perimeter-based to fine-grained segmentation between workloads.