Zero Trust security
The "never trust, always verify" mindset for modern cloud and remote work.
Zero Trust security
The "never trust, always verify" mindset for modern cloud and remote work.
What you'll learn
- Zero Trust assumes the network may be compromised; every request is verified.
- Identity, device health, and least privilege are key; location is not trusted.
- Apply to users and services: no implicit trust based on "internal" network.
The death of the trusted internal network
Traditional security models assumed an internal network was trusted and the internet was not. Once you were "inside" (VPN, office network), many systems stopped asking questions.
Zero Trust flips this: it assumes the network might already be compromised. Every request is verified-user, device, and context-no matter where it comes from.
Never Trust
Assume network is compromised
Always Verify
Check every request
Least Privilege
Minimum access needed
Traditional: Perimeter-Based
Once inside the firewall, trust is assumed. Internal network = trusted zone.
Zero Trust: Verify Everything
Every request is verified—user, device, context—regardless of network location.
Real-world scenario: remote workforce on public Wi‑Fi
Expert scenarioScenario: An employee connects to a company database from a coffee shop Wi‑Fi using a personal laptop.
Decision: In a Zero Trust model, the network location is not trusted by default. Access is granted only if the user identity is strongly authenticated (for example, MFA), the device meets health checks (disk encryption, OS patch level), and the request is limited to the minimum data they actually need.
This way, even if the café network is hostile, each request is individually verified instead of relying on a "safe internal network".
How this might come up in interviews
Security and architecture interviews: expect to explain Zero Trust principles and how you would apply them (identity, device health, least privilege) in a given scenario.
Common questions:
- What is Zero Trust and how is it different from perimeter security?
- How would you implement Zero Trust for a remote team?
- What does "never trust, always verify" mean in practice?
Key takeaways
- Zero Trust assumes the network may be compromised; every request is verified.
- Identity, device health, and least privilege are key; location is not trusted.
- Apply to users and services: no implicit trust based on "internal" network.
Before you move on: can you answer these?
How does Zero Trust differ from traditional perimeter security?
Perimeter security trusts "inside" the network. Zero Trust never trusts by default; it verifies every request regardless of where it comes from.
Related concepts
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