Zero Trust Architecture: Does It Help?

Discusses the concept of zero trust architecture (ZTA). ZTA has been introduced as a fine-grained defense approach paradigm that shifts defenses from static, network-based perimeters to users, assets, and resources.1 It assumes that no entities outside and inside the protected system can be trusted and therefore requires articulated and high-coverage deployment of security controls, such as authentication and access control. In a way, ZTA is not new; the idea that securing a system requires pervasive, fine-grained, and continuous deployment of layered security controls is quite obvious. However, the current emphasis on ZTA is important as it pushes systematic approaches to cybersecurity.