What is Zero Trust Network Access?
More organizations are moving away from traditional network access and looking to a zero trust network access (ZTNA) model.
Traditional VPNs have been a mainstay for decades, many organizations are now looking for alternatives that better meet their plans and objectives. With better security, more granular control, and a better user experience, zero-trust network access (ZTNA) can be a smarter choice for securely connecting a remote workforce. And for that we need to understand what ZTNA is, how ZTNA works & who are the best zero trust network access providers.
What is ZTNA
Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) is an IT security solution that provides secure remote access to an organization’s applications, data, and services based on clearly defined access control policies.
What is Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) Means to the Corporate Sector?
The ZTNA feature enables the principles of Zero Trust Access to be applied to applications. In practice, this delivers three key benefits to customers:
1. Easier secure remote connections due to the automatic encrypted tunnels.
2. Reduced Attack Surface by limiting application access only to users who need it AND hiding all applications behind a firewall (the application proxy point).
3. Better security by repeatedly verifying users and device posture every time an application session starts.
How ASIAN can help as a ZTNA vendor?
Asian is a Certified Partner of Fortinet. Fortinet is a Leader in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Network Firewalls & IT Security Technologies. Asian provides Fortinet ZTNA solution.
Fortinet ZTNA simplifies secure connectivity and reduces the attack surface. Users are authenticated and verified before they are allowed to access a particular application. The solution includes a set of products that integrate into the Fortinet Security Fabric, enabling easy management and end-to-end visibility.
Five Advantages of ZTNA (zero trust network access)
Fortunately, solutions exist that allow organizations to implement an effective zero-trust strategy without extensive retooling of the network. ZTNA solutions offer multiple advantages over VPNs.
1. Organizations can extend the zero-trust model beyond the network. Unlike a VPN, which focuses exclusively on the network layer, ZTNA goes up a layer, effectively providing application security independent of the network.
2. ZTNA works transparently in the background, which improves the user experience. A user clicks on the desired app and behind the scenes the client agent does all the work. Secure connections are made and security protocols and inspection are applied to ensure an optimal experience. Unlike using a VPN, users don’t have to worry about setting up a connection or where an application is located.
3. Each user and device is verified and validated before its given access to an app or resource. This process includes a posture check that verifies that the endpoint is running the right firmware and an endpoint protection program to verify it is safe to connect to the application. The verification is granular, per session, using the same access policy whether a user is accessing resources that are on-premises, in a virtual cloud, or in a public cloud. The same policy also controls who can access that app based on the profile of the authenticating user and device.
4. Because ZTNA focuses on application access, it doesn’t matter what network the user is on. It simply delivers automatic secure connections to applications no matter where the user may be located by verifying the user and device posture for every application session, even when users are in the office.