ZTNA Zero-Trust Network Access
Simple, automatic secure access that verifies who and what is on your network and secures application access no matter where users are located.
Introduction
Challenges with remote access VPN
Remote access VPN has been a staple of most networks for decades, providing a secure method to remotely
access systems and resources on the network. However, it was developed during an era when the corporate
network resembled a medieval fortification – the proverbial castle wall and moat that formed a secure
perimeter around network resources within. VPN provided the equivalent of a secure gatehouse for authorised
users to enter the safe perimeter, but once they were in, they had full access to everything within the
perimeter.
ZTNA or zero trust network access has been designed from the start to address the challenges and limitations
with remote access VPN, offering a better solution for users anywhere, to connect securely to the applications
and data they need to do their jobs, but nothing more. There are a few fundamental differences that set ZTNA
apart from remote access VPN.
As the name implies, ZTNA is founded on the principles of zero trust – or trust nothing, verify everything. Zero
trust essentially eliminates the concept of the old castle wall and moat perimeter in favor of making every
user, every device, and every networked application their own perimeter and only interconnecting them after
validating credentials, verifying device health, and checking access policy. This dramatically improves security,
segmentation, and control
Why Zero-Trust?
The concept of a Zero Trust cybersecurity architecture has been around for more than a decade, but adoption didn’t really begin to take hold until the past couple of years. As with many technology innovations, it hasn’t always been clear just what Zero Trust is all about and, more important, how to implement it easily and cost effectively.
The principles of Zero Trust are simple: Never trust; always verify. In practice, that means each user must be verified before access is granted to any resource. Every request from every user, inside or outside of your perimeter, must be authenticated, authorised and encrypted in real time.
This protects your organization in ways other models can’t. It stops malware from entering your network; gives remote workers more protection without affecting productivity; simplifies management of security operations centers with enhanced automation; and extends visibility into potential threats to improve proactive remediation and response.
Whether your organization is already deploying Zero Trust or the term is completely new to you, it is important to understand just what Zero Trust is all about, how it can protect your organization and how to implement it most effectively.
Overall, Zero Trust changes the concept of perimeter from one based on location to one based on identity and access. This is a much more relevant security model in today’s era of cloud computing, remote work and digital transformation. Zero Trust is a game changer in helping to reduce complexity, lower costs, decrease the number of cybersecurity tools and address the growing shortage in skilled cybersecurity personnel.
Why choose SR Cloud Solutions?
SR Cloud Solutions has a 25-year track record of supplying cyber security services to many organisations in different industries.
- The best technology – highest levels of accreditation with the world’s leading vendors such as Cisco, Fortinet, and Palo Alto.
- Skills and expertise with a UK-based 24/7 Security Operations Centre (SOC).
- We are a Joscar accredited business which means we are certified to work with leading defense companies who require the highest standards of cyber security.
- We are experts in Cloud infrastructures such as Microsoft Azure so we can provide expert security consultancy on hybrid cloud environments and how best to secure and monitor those environments including Cloud Governance.
Book a meeting with one of our consultants to learn more or read on more below to find out more about our Zero-Trust Network Access (ZTNA) solutions we offer.
Zero-Trust PILLARS
When approaching Zero-Trust design, it is easier to break it down into three pillars: workforce, workload, and workplace. These align with the model proposed by Forrester to simplify adoption.
Zero-Trust for the workforce
This pillar focuses on making sure users and devices can be trusted as they access systems, regardless of location.
Zero-Trust for workloads
This pillar focuses preventing unauthorised access within application environments irrespective of where they are hosted.
Zero-Trust for the workplace
This pillar focuses on secure access to the network and for any and all devices (including IoT) that connect to enterprise networks.
Advantages of ztna over traditional vpn
Zero Trust
ZTNA is founded on the principle of zero trust or “trust nothing, verify everything.” This provides significantly better security and micro-segmentation by effectively treating each user and device like their own perimeter and constantly assessing and verifying identity and health to obtain access to corporate applications and data. Users only have access to applications and data defined explicitly by their policies, reducing lateral movement and the risks that come with it.
Works Anywhere
ZTNA is network agnostic, able to function equally well and securely from any network be it home, hotel, café, or office. Connection management is secure and transparent regardless of where the user and device are located, making it a seamless experience no matter where the user is working.
Better Visibility
ZTNA can offer increased visibility into application activity that can be important for monitoring application status, capacity planning, and licensing management and auditing.
Device Health
ZTNA integrates device compliance and health into access policies, giving you the option to exclude non-compliant, infected, or compromised systems from accessing corporate applications and data and eliminating an important threat vector and reducing risk of data theft or leakage. ZTNA solutions eliminate a common vector of attack for Ransomware and other network infiltration attacks. Since ZTNA users are no longer "on the network", threats that might otherwise get a foothold through VPN have no where to go with ZTNA.
More Transparent
ZTNA provides a frictionless, seamless end user experience by automatically establishes secure connections on demand behind the scenes as they are needed. Most users won’t even be aware of the ZTNA solution that is helping protect their data.
Easier Administration
ZTNA solutions are often much leaner, cleaner, and therefore easier to deploy and manage. They can also be more agile in quickly changing environments with users coming and going - making day-to-day administration a quick and painless task and not a full-time job.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Zero Trust is exactly what it says on the tin: “Trust Nothing, Verify Everything.” This is a different approach from the old mindset of once something is on the network, it is “trusted.”
Zero Trust requires devices and users to prove they are trustworthy before providing access. This means verifying their identity and validating device health before providing access to corporate applications and data. It’s actually a very good way to manage network access – and seamless and simple too.
ZTNA can provide secure connectivity for any networked application hosted on your on-premise network, in your public cloud, or any other hosting site. Everything from RDP access to network file shares to applications like Jira, wikis, source code repositories, support and ticketing apps – anything you host.
ZTNA is complimentary to a firewall just like VPN is complimentary to a firewall. Of course, the firewall still plays a critically important role in protecting corporate network and data center assets from attacks, threats, and unauthorized access. ZTNA bolsters a firewall by adding granular controls and security for networked applications in the cloud or on-premise.
NAC and ZTNA technologies may sound similar as they are both about providing access, but that’s where the similarities end. Network Access Control (NAC) is concerned about controlling physical access to a local on-premise network. ZTNA is concerned with controlling access to data and specific network applications regardless of which network they are on.
SASE (pronounced “sassy”) or Secure Access Service Edge, is about the cloud delivery of networking and security and includes many components such as firewalls, SD-WAN, secure web gateways, CASB, and ZTNA designed to secure any user, on any network, anywhere through the cloud. So as you can see, ZTNA is a key component of SASE and will be an essential part of our overall SASE strategy.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) help users verify their identity. Identity and MFA are parts of a ZTNA solution. ZTNA also verifies device health.
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