Zero trust microsegmentation

Clarity around zero trust matters more than ever

For many people, zero trust security equates to identity and access management (IAM)—that it’s primarily about people—not their network environment. Others may assume that if network resources are protected by perimeter defenses such as firewalls, then every device on a subnet or virtual local area network (VLAN) can implicitly trust every other device on the same subnet or VLAN.

These assumptions, however, are antithetical to the literal zero trust mandate of “trust nothing and no one,” and they’re often the root cause of security breaches and attacks.

For government agencies—especially those with existential responsibilities—a different approach is necessary to truly implement zero trust and achieve the heightened security it offers. It requires microsegmentation—grouping network resources based on their role in advancing a specific mission instead of simply by subnet or VLAN. This, in turn, requires a different approach and different tools to make what can seem to be an almost impossible task actually doable.

In this article, we delve into microsegmentation and look at what agencies need to do to begin visualizing security through a mission-first lens. We also look at Illumio, one of the leading software solutions in this space, and how it can help agencies visualize the magnitude of the problem, discover vulnerabilities that may have gone undetected, and make the necessary transition to more sustainable and reliable zero trust practices.