Cloud security company Zscaler Inc. today announced Zero Trust Segmentation, a solution that offers more secure, agile and cost-effective means to connect users, devices and workloads across distributed locations.
Core to the new offering is the ability to eliminate the need for traditional firewalls, software-defined wide-area networks and site-to-site virtual private networks by turning branches, factories and cloud environments into isolated, secure “virtual islands.” These environments connect directly to the Zscaler cloud platform, which enforces business policies to prevent ransomware spread, secure internet of things and operational technology systems, and reduce network complexity.
Zscaler argues that traditional networks, including SD-WAN and site-to-site VPNs, while extending enterprise connectivity, have also accelerated the spread of ransomware. Although firewalls can be used to do segmentation on networks, they often add complexity and increase cost.
The company’s new Zero Trust Segmentation tackles these problems by preventing ransomware attacks and turning branches into “simplified cafe-like environments” and, in doing so, …