What Are ZTNA Providers?

ZTNA providers offer solutions that help organizations to implement and manage Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) security. 

The Zero Trust framework has become critical as organizations increasingly embrace cloud computing and hybrid workforces. With many users needing secure access to cloud apps and network resources, traditional technologies like Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are no longer effective, affordable or manageable.

VPNs provide a secure connection from a device to a corporate network. However, after logging in, users can access all the network resources. As a result, attackers who have gained unauthorized access to a network can easily access the applications and data within it. VPNs also provide a sluggish user experience since all traffic must be backhauled to a centralized hub for inspection. And since VPNs require agent software to be installed on devices, this technology can’t scale easily and is a management nightmare for IT teams.

Zero Trust environments provide significantly better security by requiring constant authentication and granting limited access. Zero Trust Network Access is a critical component of a Zero Trust system, applying the principles of Zero Trust to remote access connections. The solutions offered by ZTNA providers make it easy to implement and manage Zero Trust principles. 
 

ZTNA providers offer a variety of technologies and solutions that simplify the management of secure remote access while providing more robust protection against threats. ZTNA solutions may incorporate:

• Identity and access management (IAM) technology. Zero Trust systems require all users, devices and applications to authenticate and continuously validate every resource request. Managing constant authentication requires superior IAM and network access control software with granular, adaptive and context-aware authentication policies to streamline authentication without adversely impacting performance. These solutions will also enforce least-privilege access, where users, devices and applications are granted permission to access only the applications they require to do a specific job at a particular time.
• Microsegmentation solutions. Rather than protecting a traditional network perimeter, Zero Trust environments segment the network into much smaller areas. Sensitive applications and workloads may even be protected by individual perimeters of control with their own set of security policies. ZTNA providers offer tools that can streamline and simplify microsegmentation.
• Continuous monitoring. In a Zero Trust network, IT teams always assume that a breach is already underway, giving them a head start when seeking to find and mitigate threats. Security teams need tools from ZTNA providers that offer deep visibility into activity on the network and potential threats within it.
• Device control. Security teams managing Zero Trust Network Access must constantly monitor devices to ensure each is authorized and has not been compromised.

ZTNA solutions may be deployed as agent-based or agentless services. Agent-based ZTNA installs a software agent on endpoint devices that sends information about the identity, security posture and context evaluation to a ZTNA controller for authentication. Agent-based ZTNA enables secure access to non-web-based and legacy applications, but IT teams must be able to access devices to download agents on them.

Agentless ZTNA requires no software downloads but limits access to applications that users can reach through an internet browser. The browser session forwards data about the device and the connection context to a cloud-based ZTNA controller, which manages authentication.
 

The technology offered by ZTNA providers delivers significant advantages for organizations and their IT teams as they move to adopt a Zero Trust framework. 

• Stronger security. By helping IT teams to manage Zero Trust environments more easily, solutions from ZTNA providers enable organizations to achieve a much stronger security posture. Strictly limiting access to Zero Trust network apps prevents attackers who have accessed networks illegally from moving laterally to access high-value targets, exfiltrate sensitive data, transfer funds or launch further attacks. Continuous monitoring, advanced threat detection and DLP technologies help to identify and mitigate threats sooner and limit the damage they can cause.
• Ease of management. Technology from ZTNA providers can dramatically streamline the task of managing Zero Trust environments. Integration with existing IAM solutions and IdPs simplifies set up and management of access controls. Flexible, granular security policies help teams to establish adaptive policies for individual applications and workloads.
• Improved user experiences. ZTNA solutions can improve the speed and reliability of user connections since traffic no longer needs to be backhauled to a data center for inspection.
• Lower costs. Cloud-based solutions from ZTNA providers help reduce operational expenses while eliminating the capital expense of deploying VPNs on individual devices.
• Comprehensive visibility. Zero Trust Network Access solutions allow administrators to see user and device activity across the entire network, making it easier to spot anomalies and unauthorized usage.
• Effortless scalability. Solutions from cloud-based ZTNA providers can scale easily to accommodate fast growth in the number of users seeking to access network resources remotely.

There are several essential criteria to consider when choosing a ZTNA provider.

The capabilities of identity and access management (IAM) offerings
Ideally, ZTNA providers will offer solutions that leverage and integrate with existing IAMs. From automatically onboarding users from common IAM solutions to integrating seamlessly with existing identity providers (IdPs), the right solution can help to save a great deal of time and effort for IT teams.

Data loss prevention and malware protection capabilities
Preventing data leaks and blocking malware can challenge remote work environments and unmanaged personal devices. The best ZTNA providers combine ZTNA solutions with advanced DLP capabilities and malware-detection engines that can automatically identify and block leaks and threats.

Deployment options for BYOD
The rise in bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and contractor connectivity makes it difficult for IT teams to control security on these unmanaged devices. ZTNA providers should offer agentless options that enforce contextual access control for any private web-based app while offering agent-based options to control access for non-web apps and remote desktops.

Impact on performance
Performance is a key factor in choosing a ZTNA provider. The best solutions will offer a ZTNA controller hosted in the public cloud to ensure high scalability, low latency and high availability.

Tools for visibility and reporting
IT teams need real-time visibility and control with dashboards that offer intuitive drill-downs to identify potential threats. ZTNA providers should offer solutions that can easily demonstrate regulatory compliance and facilitate security audits.

Inclusion within an SSE offering
Some ZTNA providers offer ZTNA technology as part of a comprehensive SSE/SASE platform, helping organizations to embrace the cloud, digital transformation and remote work more easily. Solutions with a single management console, single unified on-device agents, unified identity management and integrated DLP and malware scanning will dramatically simplify management for IT teams.
 

For organizations seeking a leading ZTNA provider, Forcepoint provides a ZTNA technology that is integrated with solutions for SASE. Zero Trust Network Access with Forcepoint is part of the Forcepoint ONE platform, an all-in-one, cloud-native security platform with SSE capabilities.

With Forcepoint ZTNA, organizations can:

• Achieve greater control over access to private web and non-web apps. Forcepoint ZTNA provides agentless options for BYOD and unmanaged devices, along with agent-based options from non-web private apps from managed Windows and macOS devices.
• Deploy risk-adaptive authentication. Forcepoint limits access to private apps based on identity, group membership, device type and location, with the ability to require multifactor authentication when login attempts look suspicious. Forcepoint also integrates easily with existing IAMs and IdPs.
• Control uploads and downloads of sensitive data. Forcepoint ZTNA lets IT teams manage one set of security policies to control sensitive data, deploying built-in malware-scanning and DLP technology to stop hackers and data breaches. 
• Maximize uptime and availability. Forcepoint ONE is a hyperscaler-based cloud platform with 300 points of presence (PoPs) and proven 99.99% uptime. Forcepoint ZTNA leverages this global presence to provide users with an exceptional experience and surprising speed by pushing enforcement of security policies closer to the edge.
• Simplify management of private app security. Security teams can manage access and control file downloads and uploads for users of both managed and unmanaged devices from a single console.
• Support SASE architecture. Forcepoint ONE unifies CASB, SWG and ZTNA technology to secure access to private apps, web apps and corporate SaaS-based apps.