TOPIC SECURITY
Zero Trust never trust, always verify — no implicit access based on network location
IN 10 SECONDS
Traditional security trusts anything inside the corporate network. Zero Trust assumes the network is hostile. Every request — from any user, device, or location — must be authenticated, authorized, and encrypted. Access is granted per-session with least privilege, and continuous monitoring flags anomalous behavior.
GOTCHA Zero Trust is not a product you buy — it's an architecture transformation. A ZTNA solution (Cloudflare Access, Zscaler, Tailscale) is a starting point, but you also need microsegmentation, continuous monitoring, and identity-aware logging.
HOW A ZERO TRUST ACCESS FLOW WORKS
01 User attempts to access an internal app (e.g., Jenkins) from their laptop.
02 Identity provider authenticates the user via SSO and MFA. The device posture (OS patch level, disk encrypted) is checked.
03 Policy engine evaluates context: user role, device health, location, time of day, and sensitivity of the target resource.
04 Proxy/gateway grants a per-session connection — not a VPN tunnel to the whole network. The user sees only the Jenkins UI, nothing else.
05 Session is continuously monitored. If the user downloads 10K records or accesses from an unusual IP, the session is terminated.
POKE IT YOURSELF
curl -v https://zero-trust.example.com 2>&1 | grep -i "cf-access" — check for Zero Trust proxy headers
tailscale status — inspect Tailscale node connections
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