2024 ZTNA Use Cases

Remote work is now a permanent fixture. A recent survey found that 94% of organizations are either fully remote or have a hybrid work model. While remote work offers benefits like flexibility, productivity, and cost savings, it also brings serious IT security challenges.

Traditional security methods like VPNs, firewalls, and network perimeters aren’t built for today’s cloud-based and distributed work environments. They can expose the entire network to threats, slow down performance, and are complicated and expensive to maintain.

This is why many organizations are turning to a new way to secure remote access: Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA). While there are many benefits and applications of ZTNA when it comes to network security, this blog discusses some of the most important use cases that will be particularly beneficial for you. 

What is Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and why is it crucial in 2024?

Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) is a security approach that ensures no one inside or outside your network is trusted by default. Instead, it verifies every user and device trying to access your network, ensuring they are who they say they are and have the right permissions. In 2024, as more people work remotely and use cloud services, ZTNA is crucial because it provides stronger protection against cyber threats, keeps sensitive data safe, and adapts to the changing ways we work and use technology.

How does ZTNA safeguard your organization's sensitive information?

ZTNA safeguards your organization's sensitive information by ensuring that only verified users and devices can access it. It continuously checks each user's identity and permissions, and only allows access to the specific data and applications they need. This minimizes the risk of unauthorized access and protects your data from cyber threats.

What are the top ZTNA use cases?

Here are the top six use cases for Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA):

Securing Remote Work: ZTNA ensures remote employees can safely access the company's network and resources from anywhere, protecting sensitive data and maintaining productivity.

Protecting Cloud Applications: ZTNA provides secure access to cloud-based applications, ensuring that only authorized users can access them and reducing the risk of data breaches.

Enabling Bring Your Own Device (BYOD): ZTNA allows employees to use their own devices for work by verifying each device and user, ensuring that only approved devices can access the network.

Third-Party Access Management: ZTNA securely manages access for contractors, partners, and other third parties, granting them limited access to only the necessary parts of the network.

Enhancing Network Visibility: ZTNA gives IT teams better insight into who is accessing the network and what they are doing, making it easier to detect and respond to potential threats.

Streamlining Compliance: ZTNA helps organizations meet regulatory requirements by ensuring that only authorized users can access sensitive data, simplifying audit processes and improving overall security posture.

Case studies and real-world examples

1. Google:

Technologies Used: Google employs a variety of ZTNA technologies, including multi-factor authentication (MFA), identity and access management (IAM) solutions, encryption, micro-segmentation, and granular access controls.

Benefits: By embracing ZTNA, Google has enhanced its security posture by reducing the attack surface and minimizing the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive data and resources. ZTNA allows Google to enforce access policies based on user identity, device trustworthiness, and contextual factors, thereby enabling secure access from any location or device.

Implementation: Salesforce has integrated ZTNA principles into its cloud-based CRM platform to ensure secure access for employees, partners, and customers. They have adopted a zero-trust approach where every access request is rigorously authenticated and authorized, regardless of the user's location or network.

Technologies Used: Salesforce leverages advanced authentication mechanisms such as single sign-on (SSO), adaptive authentication, session management, and encryption to enforce ZTNA policies and protect sensitive customer data.

Benefits: By implementing ZTNA, Salesforce has strengthened its security posture and gained better visibility and control over user access to its CRM platform. ZTNA enables Salesforce to prevent unauthorized access attempts, detect anomalous behavior, and respond to security incidents in real-time, thereby enhancing data protection and regulatory compliance.

Implementation: Microsoft has heavily invested in ZTNA technologies to secure its Azure cloud platform, Office 365 suite, and other enterprise services. They have adopted a comprehensive approach to ZTNA, combining identity-centric security controls with network segmentation and application-level access policies.

Technologies Used: Microsoft utilizes a range of ZTNA-enabling technologies, including Azure Active Directory (AAD), Conditional Access, Azure Firewall, Azure Virtual Network (VNet) peering, and Azure Application Gateway, to enforce access controls and protect against cyber threats.

Benefits: By embracing ZTNA, Microsoft has enhanced the security and compliance of its cloud services, enabling customers to securely access their data and applications from anywhere while mitigating the risk of data breaches and insider threats. ZTNA allows Microsoft to provide a seamless and frictionless user experience without compromising on security or performance.

Future trends in ZTNA

IoT Protection: It will focus more on safeguarding all those smart gadgets we use, making sure they're secure and trusted on our networks.

Smart Security with AI: ZTNA will get smarter with AI, learning from our behavior to keep our networks safe automatically.

Edge Safety: ZTNA will extend its safety measures to the edge of our networks, keeping our data secure even on the go.

How PureDome helps

PureDome helps by offering a strong security system called Zero Trust Architecture, ensuring safe access to applications no matter where users are or what devices they're using. It adds extra security with features like multi-factor authentication, adjusts access based on context like user location or device status, and keeps an eye out for any suspicious activity to prevent security threats. Plus, it easily fits into existing tech setups, making it simple to implement and maintain.