What is Zero Trust Application Access?

Zero Trust Application Access (ZTAA) is a security framework for managing access to software applications within an organization’s IT environment. 

Zero Trust security solutions adopt a “never trust, always verify” approach when determining whether to grant access to IT resources. Rather than implicitly trusting anything already inside the network – the traditional approach to network security – Zero Trust security tools assume that every request is potentially malicious. Access is granted only after users, devices and applications have been authenticated, and only for specific resources for a limited amount of time.

Zero Trust Application Access applies Zero Trust principles by directing all requests to an access broker within the IT environment, which grants access after authenticating the requesting user or device.

Zero Trust Application Access applies the basic principles of Zero Trust security to the process of controlling access to applications. 

• Trust nothing. In a Zero Trust data security environment, every user, device and application is assumed to be a threat and must be authenticated and validated on every request for access to IT resources.
• Assume breach. By operating with the assumption that a successful breach has already happened, IT security teams are encouraged to take a more assertive security posture, assigning authorization to a smaller number of users and working to uncover unknown attacks earlier.
• Grant least-privilege access. Zero Trust security platforms allow users and devices to access only the resources they need, rather than granting broad access to large parts of the network. This approach minimizes the potential points of entry for attackers and the number of credentials that IT teams must manage.
• Limit the impact of attacks. Zero Trust Application Access uses microsegmentation to tightly control access to applications and other IT assets, limiting the damage that attackers can inflict after successfully gaining access to one part of the environment.
• Continuously monitor for threats. With continuous, real-time monitoring, IT teams can identify threats and suspicious traffic earlier.
• Multifactor authentication. IT teams can prevent unauthorized access to applications by requiring users to present two or more pieces of identification.

Zero Trust Application Access provides organizations and IT teams with significant benefits.

• Stronger security posture. ZTAA solutions help to block dangerous attacks like cross-site scripting and DDoS attacks. By requiring users and devices to constantly authenticate, Zero Trust Application Access prevents attackers who have gained access to the network from moving freely within it and accessing high-value targets. 
• Ease of management. Zero Trust Application Access enables security teams to manage application security and enforce policies more easily. Superior ZTAA technology provides administrators with a single dashboard and complete visibility into user and device activity.
• Streamlined compliance. By delivering greater visibility and enhanced security, Zero Trust Application Access helps enterprises comply more easily with a wide variety of regulatory frameworks and internal standards.
• Lower headcount. Automated features of a ZTAA solution enable budget-constrained security teams to enhance security programs without adding staff resources.
• Comprehensive visibility. Because access to applications is granted on a case-by-case basis, Zero Trust Application Access solutions let IT teams see exactly which users and devices are accessing applications and from where.

Zero Trust Application Access and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) are similar in that they both apply Zero Trust principles when granting access to IT resources. The biggest difference between these two technologies is their focus – ZTNA is network-centric while ZTAA is application-centric.

ZTNA applies Zero Trust principles when granting remote access to users. In contrast to traditional remote access solutions that grant users broad and unrestricted access to large sections of the corporate network, ZTNA allows access only to the parts of a network that users need to complete a task.

ZTAA delivers more granular control, protecting not only the network but connected applications as well. ZTAA also reduces overall complexity by requiring fewer components to function. This makes ZTAA a better choice to manage multi-cloud, hybrid setups as well as cloud-native technologies like containers and Kubernetes.
 

As a leading provider of Zero Trust and SASE solutions, Forcepoint offers several solutions for organizations and IT teams seeking to implement Zero Trust Application Access. With Zero Trust solutions from Forcepoint, IT teams can stop threats from moving within the network, control the usage of data and continuously understand who’s creating risk.

Forcepoint Zero Trust security products include:

• Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA). Forcepoint ZTNA securely connects remote workers to apps in internal data centers and private clouds. Forcepoint ZTNA enables superior control of Zero Trust network apps by giving access only to the apps users need rather than all apps in internal data centers. Using browser shortcuts or single sign-on portals, remote workers can connect to private apps using their own devices as if they were in the office. 
• Content Disarm & Reconstruction (CDR). Forcepoint Zero Trust CDR blocks known and unknown threats and malware in documents, emails, files and images entering the network. After extracting valid business data from files, Zero Trust CDR builds a new, fully functional file that allows users to access the information they need. Zero Trust CDR frees the SOC team from handling quarantine queues, managing false positives, applying signature updates and dealing with potential breach alerts.
• Data Loss Prevention (DLP). Forcepoint DLP helps prevent unauthorized users or malicious individuals from accessing, leaking or exfiltrating data. Using security policy to detect sensitive information in network traffic, Forcepoint DLP blocks data from leaving the organization – in real time and with no friction for the user experience.