Zero Trust Architecture Implementation

Zero trust has moved from slogan to mandate for organizations serious about reducing their attack surface, but knowing the principle is not the same as implementing it. This intermediate course starts from the tenets of zero trust and the drivers behind its adoption, then puts participants through a current-state maturity assessment using the CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model before working the pillars in turn: identity and access modernization, device, network and workload trust enforcement, and application, data and policy enforcement.

From there the course covers the visibility, analytics and automation that make zero trust operational rather than aspirational, and closes with participants designing a staged implementation plan complete with governance and metrics. Zero trust applies as directly in a commercial environment as anywhere else, so the skills here transfer straight into any organization's security architecture work.

What You Will Learn

• Explain zero trust principles and the drivers behind its adoption
• Assess current-state maturity using the CISA ZT Maturity Model
• Modernize identity, credential, and access management
• Enforce trust across devices, networks, and workloads
• Architect application, data, and policy enforcement
• Apply visibility, analytics, and automation for threat response
• Build a staged zero trust implementation roadmap

Course Outline

Module 1: Zero Trust Principles and Federal Implementation Drivers

• Examine zero trust principles, core tenets, and the federal policies and mandates driving adoption across government environments.

Module 2: Current-State Assessment and Zero Trust Maturity

• Evaluate the current security environment and establish a maturity baseline using the CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model.

Module 3: Identity, Credential, and Access Modernization

• Apply identity, credential, and access management principles as the foundation of a zero trust architecture.

Module 4: Device, Network, and Workload Trust Enforcement

• Enforce trust requirements across devices, networks, workloads, and other components of the technology environment.

Module 5: Application, Data, and Policy Enforcement Architecture

• Design policy enforcement mechanisms that protect applications and data based on identity, context, risk, and least-privilege access.

Module 6: Visibility, Analytics, Automation, and Threat Response

• Use centralized visibility, security analytics, automation, and threat response capabilities to support continuous trust evaluation.

Module 7: Implementation Roadmaps, Governance, and Performance Metrics

• Develop a phased implementation roadmap, establish governance responsibilities, and define metrics for measuring zero trust progress and performance.

Module 8: Designing a Zero Trust Implementation Plan Capstone

• Produce a comprehensive zero trust implementation plan that addresses maturity, architecture, governance, priorities, milestones, and performance measures.