We are excited and proud to be recognized in “The Gartner Market Guide for Zero Trust Network Access”. In this report, Gartner dives into the Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) market, providing insights into the direction, opportunities and risks of the space. To read the full report, click here.
ZTNA is here to disrupt the cyber security cosmos. It is more than just another security product, it is a method of doing security in such a way that truly tackles rising security threats such as ransomware, remote work and advanced threats, head on. It is a complex challenge, one that requires the best team and the right technology. At Zero Networks we are working tirelessly to meet this challenge, as we believe we have the best team, developing the right technology, ripe to disrupt the way security is done.
Being recognized by Gartner is an important, and exciting, milestone in our journey. As a young startup that just recently came out of stealth, we are proud to be listed alongside veteran security companies. It is yet another validation of our hard work, awesome technology and talented people.
What Is ZTNA
In cybersecurity, many terms are overused to the point they obscure more than they reveal about a certain technology or product. ZTNA is one of those terms. It is often thrown about, but rarely provides a clear understanding or definition of what it means.
In a nutshell, we believe ZTNA should be reserved for solutions that can tightly restrict the access a user, device or application has to the network. By creating logical access boundaries for each entity, organizations can prevent excessive movement by those entities, as well as hide them from discovery, which significantly reduces attack vectors and the overall attack surface of the organization.
Network Access Should Be Earned, Not Given
Because networks were designed to provide connectivity, it is not inherently secure. Authentication and security is usually applied by applications higher up in the stack, leaving the network to implicitly trust all packets and deliver them to the applications. This implicit trust is often misused by attacks to infect and propagate inside the network.
ZTNA solutions can mitigate these risks by building in controls for network access, so it has to be earned versus given. Instead of defaulting to allow everything to connect, ZTNA can insist users and devices earn the right to access that resource, based on any number of factors, from the identity of the user to the context of that connection.
It is these factors, as well as how a product or service implements those access restrictions, that sets one solution apart from another. In evaluating ZTNA solutions, organizations need to look at how quick and easy it is to create and maintain boundaries that can effectively restrict access for each and every user and machine across their environment.
There Shouldn’t Be Tradeoffs Between Security, Cost and Scalability
When choosing a ZTNA solution, there are often tradeoffs to consider. For example, if achieving tight restrictions consumes significant IT and security resources, the organization will likely be forced to either lessen restrictions or limit the scope of their implementation to only critical parts of the network. Organizations looking to implement ZTNA typically have to weigh which axis - security, affordability, scalability - is most important to them and find the solution that caters to that need.
The ZTNA market is filled with entrants who are tweaking their solution to improve their ability to deliver on one, maybe even two, of these axis. However, we don’t believe that’s enough. The market needs a fresh approach and a clear path forward, one that doesn’t force compromises. This is what we offer, and why we think Zero Networks, a startup that just launched in February, was included in Gartner’s report.
A New Approach to ZTNA - Zero Networks
When forced to compromise on security, affordability, or scalability, it is impossible to attain the level of control needed throughout the network to ultimately reduce all the excessive trust risks. Zero Networks doesn’t require these compromises. With a new approach that uses the existing infrastructure of the organization to enforce strict network controls, Zero Networks can automate the creation and maintenance of user and device perimeters to ensure that access is restricted to only what is normally needed, nothing more.
When new access is needed, users can get it, using a self-service approach that applies a standard two-factor authentication process to confirm the legitimacy of the request. Set up is easy and maintenance effortless, requiring little to no IT intervention to keep a zero-trust stance at scale. To learn more about Zero Networks approach and get a demo of it in action, please reach out at contact@phpstack-717800-4003432.cloudwaysapps.com.