Frequently
Asked Questions

Microsegmentation (or Micro Segmentation) is the practice of dividing a network into very small regions called microsegments, usually up to a segment per machine.

By isolating every element – all clients, workloads, applications, virtual machines, and operating systems – into its own protective barrier that cannot be penetrated by attackers, organizations greatly reduce the attack surface of their network. Segmenting the network in this way makes it virtually impossible for attackers to move laterally within the network and cause damage.

Cybersecurity experts credit excessive trust within the network as the leading cause of breaches being so extensive and damaging. Inside most networks, users and machines are free to connect to many assets, which is a lot more than they should or will ever need. This excessive trust leaves sensitive data and critical systems open to unauthorized use and makes it easy for attackers in the network to easily spread and access almost everything in that network. Zero Networks solves the problem of excessive trust by restricting the access of each and every device in the network to only what they need.

Zero Networks enables organizations to achieve a self sustaining, zero trust networking stance, at scale. With the click of a button, the Zero Networks Access Orchestrator can apply policies that restrict the access of each and every user and machine in the network to only what they need to do their job, preventing unauthorized lateral movement and eliminating many internal attack vectors to keep resources and ongoing operations safe.

The Zero Networks Access Orchestrator (ZNAO) is a cloud-based service that integrates with the existing IT, networking and cybersecurity infrastructure to observe and enforce least privilege network access policies. There are no agents to deploy or manage, no policies to continuously update.

The Zero Networks Access Orchestrator maps all the communications within the network and then uses a patent-pending method to automatically create user and machine-level perimeter policies to confine access to only what is required. Organizations can see a simulation of how these policies will enforce access before clicking the button to roll them out.

When a user needs access to new resources, they can get it, just in time (JIT), using a standard two-factor authentication process that confirms their request is legitimate. Zero Networks automatically updates the policies for that user to ensure they can securely go about their business. On the flip side, if a user or machine stops using a given resource, the Zero Networks Access Orchestrator will revoke their access to that resource after a configurable amount of time. There is no need for IT intervention. Zero Networks does it all.

Simple, Zero Networks doesn’t care where the network connection comes from – it can be from a laptop or device inside the network or a VPN connection originating from an employee’s home. If it is a normal and legitimate connection, it will be allowed, everything else will have to go through 2-step verification (usually done via the user’s phone) to prove it is legitimate and not commodity malware, ransomware or an attacker trying to spread.

No, Zero Networks integrates with your existing IT, networking and cybersecurity infrastructure to monitor and enforce network access policies – there are no agents to install. The only thing you will need to do is to install our virtual server. Via a quick one time setup, you will need to integrate the solution with your identity provider(s), firewall infrastructure(s) and, depending on your environment and use cases, any other existing solutions you want it to interact with.

No, Zero Networks automates the creation and ongoing adaptation of least privilege network access policies tailor made for each and every user and machine in your environment. If a user needs access to a new resource, they can get it by authenticating their request, using a standard two-factor authentication process, and proving it’s legitimate.

Zero Networks enables organizations to offer self-service, just-in-time access for users that means IT doesn’t have to get involved at all. When appropriate, Zero Networks will update a user’s access policy to incorporate new access needs, as well as revoke access to resources that are no longer required, after a configurable amount of time. This is part of the secret (patent-pending) sauce of the Zero Networks solution. Finally, organizations have the ability to deploy and enforce real-time network access automatically, at scale.

About one hour.

The Zero Networks approach is unique because it:

• Can scale to protect from both managed and unmanaged machines throughout the network
• Doesn’t require agents
• Uses a patent-pending method to create and maintain least privilege access throughout the network
• Reuses existing IT, network and security infrastructure to orchestrate and enforce network access
• Doesn’t require IT intervention to stay up to date
• Provides a two-factor authentication mechanism that seamlessly enables on-demand, just-in-time (JIT) access for legitimate users
• Has been used to protect production networks even before its general availability (that’s how excited customers have been about this solution)

Zero trust promises to eliminate excessive network access – it is based on the belief that organizations should not trust any entity, regardless of whether it is inside or outside the perimeter, at any time. Everything should be verified before allowing it to connect to any asset. While most industry experts see this model as the way forward and most organizations want to adopt a zero trust stance, traditional approaches have made it impractical to accomplish at scale. Current implementations, via complicated router ACLs, firewall rules, network access control systems, other segmentation solutions, and the combination of various software defined perimeter solutions, force tradeoffs between airtight security, affordability and scalability. You can have one, maybe two, but not all three. Until now. With Zero Networks, a continuous zero trust networking stance is finally possible. That’s because the patent pending Zero Networks Access Orchestrator provides an easy, self sustaining network control for every user and machine in your network to get only the access they need, nothing more. This eliminates excessive trust and eliminates the ability for attackers to move freely throughout your network.

Security should never disrupt the business, and the Zero Network Access Orchestrators is no different. As most users don’t generate suspicious network access, the majority of the workforce won’t even notice any change. When a user tries to access something they don’t normally access, they will simply need to use two factor authentication, via their phone or email, to prove their request is legitimate. This is nothing more than what they are used to doing when they try to access their accounts from a new machine or location. It takes up to a minute to do, and once done, the Access Orchestrator can automatically incorporate the approved access into that user’s policy. Before deploying the user- and machine-level network access policies automatically generated for your environment by the Zero Network Access Orchestrator, you can see a simulation to understand the exact impact on user access.

Zero Networks has customers in almost any vertical throughout the U.S. and Europe. Basically any organization that is looking to protect themselves from commodity malware, ransomware and attackers spreading in their networks, should use Zero Networks.

The main premise of a NAC solution is to govern what can and cannot be inside the network, based on the old ‘castle and moat’ approach. Unfortunately, we know attackers are already inside the network (the castle), so we don’t need a single ‘moat’ but rather a ‘moat’ for every asset to ensure it is not able to access more than it should. This is exactly what Zero Networks provides. Zero Networks isolates every asset in the network, only allowing legitimate connections to occur – it’s like having a ‘moat’ around every user and machine. The other big difference between NACs and Zero Networks is the ease of use and ongoing operations. NACs need you to deploy agents everywhere, constantly update and maintain the rules, and spend a lot of time and effort to make it work with all your routers and switches. In contrast, Zero Networks is fast and simple to deploy and use – there are no agents to deploy, no rules to manually update, no need for IT intervention. There is only a one time short setup to integrate the solution in the environment and then the solution operates autonomously.

Given the scale and dynamic nature of today’s networks, it’s practically impossible to use traditional control points to efficiently create and enforce effective network access policies for each and every user and machine throughout the network. No one has the time or resources to constantly manage and make updates to their router ACLs, firewall rules, and other complex segmentation solutions to confine access to only what is required. Zero Networks eliminates the time and effort typically needed to establish and maintain least privilege network access policies for each and every device in the network. With the click of a button, organizations can automate everything – policy creation, enforcement, and maintenance – to ensure users and devices can only access what they need, nothing more.