Zero Trust Security and Strategy | Microsoft Security (original) (raw)

• Zero Trust is a modern security strategy and architectural approach based on the principle of never trust, always verify. Instead of assuming everything behind the corporate firewall is safe, the Zero Trust architecture assumes breach and verifies each request as though it originates from an open network.
• Zero Trust is implemented through three core principles that guide the end-to-end security architecture:
  1. Verify explicitly: always authenticate and authorize based on all available data points, including user identity, location, device health, service or workload, data classification, and anomalies.
  2. Use least-privilege access: limit user access with just-in-time and just-enough access, risk-based adaptive policies, and data protection to help secure data and improve productivity.
  3. Assume breach: verify end-to-end encryption and use analytics to gain visibility, detect threats, and improve defenses.
• Organizations need Zero Trust solutions because security has become more complex. As increasing numbers of employees work remotely, it’s no longer sufficient to just protect the network perimeter. Organizations need adaptive solutions that fully authenticate and verify every access request while quickly detecting and responding to threats both inside and outside the network.
• • Zero Trust helps solve the complexity of today’s threat landscape by eliminating implicit trust and enforcing continuous verification across the full architecture. As threats increase and hybrid work expands, Zero Trust: Reduces attack surface by verifying every identity, device, and transaction.
  • Minimizes breach impact by enforcing least-privilege access to limit threats.
  • Secures AI by protecting AI models and data while using AI for defense.
  • Enables innovation by supporting AI, cloud, and hybrid work more securely.
    As an end-to-end framework, Zero Trust integrates strategy, automation, and advanced threat detection to strengthen security at every level.
• A Zero Trust network continuously authenticates, authorizes, and encrypts every request across the networking and access architecture. It applies microsegmentation to limit lateral movement, enforces least‑privilege access, and uses intelligence and analytics to detect anomalies in real time. This ensures that users, devices, and workloads only access what they need.
• A strong Zero Trust policy enforces continuous verification and least-privilege access across multiple layers. For example, multifactor authentication ensures users prove their identity using multiple methods, such as a PIN on a known device. Conditional access policies further enhance security by granting access based on factors such as user role, device health, or location. Endpoint security solutions, such as Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, help enforce compliance by verifying device integrity before granting access. Together, these policies reduce the risk of unauthorized access and strengthen Zero Trust protections.
• Implementing a Zero Trust strategy starts with identifying business priorities and gaining leadership buy-in. It may take many years to complete the rollout, so it helps to start with easy wins and prioritize tasks based on business goals. An implementation plan will typically include the following steps:
  • Roll out identity and device protection, including multifactor authentication, least-privilege access, and conditional access policies.
  • Enroll endpoints in a device-management solution to ensure devices and apps are up to date and meet organizational requirements.
  • Deploy an extended detection and response solution to detect, investigate, and respond to threats across endpoints, identities, cloud apps, and emails.
  • Protect and govern sensitive data with solutions that provide visibility into all data and apply data loss prevention policies.
• SASE is a security framework that combines software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) and Zero Trust security solutions into a converged cloud-delivered platform that securely connects users, systems, endpoints, and remote networks to apps and resources.
  Zero Trust, one component of SASE, is a modern security strategy that treats every access request as if it comes from an open network. SASE also includes SD-WAN, secure web gateway, cloud access security broker, and firewall as a service, all centrally managed through a single platform.
• A VPN is a technology that enables remote employees to connect to the corporate network. Zero Trust is a high-level strategy that assumes that individuals, devices, and services that are attempting to access company resources, even those inside the network, cannot automatically be trusted. To enhance security, these users are verified every time they request access, even if they were authenticated earlier.