Zero Trust.
A security model that assumes no user or device is trusted by default, regardless of whether they’re inside the network perimeter. Every access request is verified, authenticated, and authorized. Often summarized as "never trust, always verify."
Zero Trust is an architectural philosophy more than a specific technology — at its core, it replaces the "castle and moat" perimeter model with continuous verification at every access decision. Practical implementations layer identity-aware access proxies, device posture checks, micro-segmentation, and least-privilege role-based access control. NIST Special Publication 800-207 is the canonical reference. The reality of most "Zero Trust" rollouts: it's a multi-year journey, not a product purchase. Start with identity (SSO + MFA + conditional access), then layer device trust, then segment east-west traffic.
Connected concepts.
IAM
Identity and Access ManagementThe discipline of managing digital identities — users, service accounts, machine identities — and controlling their access to systems and data. Core practices include SSO, MFA, RBAC, PAM, and periodic access reviews.
MFA
Multi-factor authenticationA security mechanism requiring two or more verification factors to access a resource. Factors fall into three categories: something you know (password), something you have (phone, token), something you are (biometric). MFA is the single highest-ROI control for most organizations.
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