DevOps Dictionary

Zero Trust is a security model that treats every access request as untrusted by default, even when it comes from inside the corporate network. It addresses the problem of implicit trust, where a compromised laptop, stolen credentials, or a misconfigured service can move laterally and reach sensitive systems. At a high level, Zero Trust works by continuously verifying identity and device health, enforcing least-privilege access (only the minimum permissions needed), and segmenting systems so each request is authenticated and authorized based on context such as user role, workload identity, location, and risk signals.

With Zero Trust, breaches are contained and access is auditable and policy-driven; without it, a single foothold can cascade into broader compromise and harder incident response. This gap exists because traditional perimeter defenses assume “inside equals safe,” while modern environments are distributed across cloud, SaaS, and remote endpoints.