{"id":248285,"date":"2026-09-02T00:01:07","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T00:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/zero-trust-security-best-practices\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T00:01:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T00:01:08","slug":"zero-trust-security-best-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/zero-trust-security-best-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Step Zero Trust Security Checklist for IT Teams, Fast and Auditable"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"336cb5b64765e27a1a6c1bb71b941f1a\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-4830628043307652\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- above content -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-4830628043307652\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"5864845439\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>Zero Trust means no user, device, or connection gets trusted by default, no matter where it sits on the network. Every access request gets verified on its own terms. Two moves matter most right now: inventory your protect surface (the specific data, assets, and services you\u2019re actually defending), and lock down identity with mandatory MFA and centralized authentication before touching anything else.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong>TL;DR:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Inventory your protect surface thoroughly before implementing segmentation to prevent production traffic disruptions.<\/li>\n<li>Enforce MFA universally and adopt hardware-backed passwordless authentication to significantly reduce credential theft risks.<\/li>\n<li>Establish device posture checks with endpoint detection and management tools to differentiate access levels based on device health.<\/li>\n<li>Automate policy enforcement and implement quick session revocation to minimize exposure windows during a breach.<\/li>\n<li>Focus initially on identity fundamentals and phased deployment to build a scalable, manageable Zero Trust program without overwhelming resources.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<hr>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_77 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/zero-trust-security-best-practices\/#What_Are_the_Core_Zero_Trust_Principles\" >What Are the Core Zero Trust Principles?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/zero-trust-security-best-practices\/#What_Is_the_Best_Zero_Trust_Implementation_Checklist\" >What Is the Best Zero Trust Implementation Checklist?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/zero-trust-security-best-practices\/#How_Should_You_Roll_Out_Zero_Trust_in_Phases\" >How Should You Roll Out Zero Trust in Phases?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/zero-trust-security-best-practices\/#Which_Technologies_Support_a_Zero_Trust_Architecture\" >Which Technologies Support a Zero Trust Architecture?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/zero-trust-security-best-practices\/#Who_Should_Own_Zero_Trust_Governance_and_Metrics\" >Who Should Own Zero Trust Governance and Metrics?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/zero-trust-security-best-practices\/#What_Mistakes_Undermine_Zero_Trust_Adoption\" >What Mistakes Undermine Zero Trust Adoption?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/zero-trust-security-best-practices\/#How_Does_LogMeOnce_Support_These_Zero_Trust_Controls\" >How Does LogMeOnce Support These Zero Trust Controls?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/zero-trust-security-best-practices\/#Where_Can_You_Find_Official_Zero_Trust_Standards\" >Where Can You Find Official Zero Trust Standards?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/zero-trust-security-best-practices\/#An_Editorial_Take_on_Getting_This_Right\" >An Editorial Take on Getting This Right<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/zero-trust-security-best-practices\/#Sources\" >Sources<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/zero-trust-security-best-practices\/#Recommended\" >Recommended<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 id=\"what-are-the-core-zero-trust-principles\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Are_the_Core_Zero_Trust_Principles\"><\/span>What Are the Core Zero Trust Principles?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Zero Trust security best practices all trace back to one idea: never trust, always verify. That\u2019s not a slogan, it\u2019s an operational rule. Every request for access, whether it\u2019s a laptop pinging a file server or a microservice calling another microservice, gets evaluated on its own merits. Nothing gets a free pass because it\u2019s \u201cinside the firewall,\u201d because <a href=\"https:\/\/nvlpubs.nist.gov\/nistpubs\/SpecialPublications\/NIST.SP.800-207.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">NIST SP 800-207<\/a> treats the network perimeter as functionally meaningless.<\/p>\n<p>That verification happens per session and often per request. A user authenticated an hour ago doesn\u2019t automatically stay authorized now. Sessions expire, risk signals shift, and the system re-checks before granting the next action. This is where least privilege earns its keep: access gets scoped to exactly what a task requires, for exactly as long as it\u2019s needed, then it goes away. Just-in-time access elevation, rather than standing admin rights, is the mechanism that makes this practical instead of theoretical.<\/p>\n<p>Underneath all of it sits a policy decision engine. NIST\u2019s model splits this into a Policy Decision Point (PDP) that evaluates the request against attributes like identity, device health, location, and behavior, and a Policy Enforcement Point (PEP) that actually allows or blocks the connection. This split matters because it lets policy stay dynamic. A login from a managed laptop with an up to date patch level looks different to the PDP than the same credentials on an unpatched personal device.<\/p>\n<p>Encryption in transit and in use isn\u2019t optional inside this model, regardless of whether traffic stays on an internal segment. Translating these tenets into engineering work means mapping them across five domains: identity, device, network, workload, and data. Each domain needs its own controls, but they all feed the same policy engine, which is what keeps a Zero Trust architecture coherent instead of becoming five disconnected point solutions.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"what-is-the-best-zero-trust-implementation-checklist\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_the_Best_Zero_Trust_Implementation_Checklist\"><\/span>What Is the Best Zero Trust Implementation Checklist?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Here\u2019s a prioritized sequence, ranked by what reduces risk fastest relative to effort.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Inventory and classify the protect surface.<\/strong> List the specific data, applications, assets, and services worth defending, then map their dependent identities, service accounts, APIs, and data flows before writing a single policy. Skipping this step is the single most common reason segmentation projects break production traffic.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Centralize identity and kill weak authentication.<\/strong> Stand up a single identity provider, enforce MFA everywhere, and move toward FIDO2-based passwordless authentication where possible. <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.aws.amazon.com\/prescriptive-guidance\/latest\/strategy-zero-trust-architecture\/best-practices.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">AWS\u2019s prescriptive guidance<\/a> lists hardware-backed authentication as a core control precisely because it removes phishable credentials from the equation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Establish device posture checks.<\/strong> EDR coverage, MDM enrollment, and a real patching cadence feed device health signals into your policy engine. An unmanaged laptop should never get the same access as a hardened, attested one.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tighten entitlements before you enforce anything.<\/strong> Run entitlement reviews, retire stale accounts, and route privileged access through a PAM solution with just-in-time elevation instead of standing admin rights.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Deploy network and application controls.<\/strong> ZTNA and identity-aware proxies replace flat network trust with per-application, per-user decisions. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisa.gov\/topics\/cybersecurity-best-practices\/zero-trust\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">CISA\u2019s microsegmentation guidance<\/a> is worth reading closely before you start carving up network zones.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Build telemetry you can actually audit.<\/strong> SIEM and UEBA platforms need consistent logging across identity, device, and network layers, or your policy decisions become unverifiable after the fact.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Automate policy enforcement and revocation.<\/strong> Policy-as-code and automated session termination on risk signals turn Zero Trust from a manual review process into something that scales past a few hundred endpoints.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Write the runbooks before you need them.<\/strong> Incident playbooks, policy review cadences, and change control processes keep the program from decaying six months after launch.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Pro Tip:<\/strong> <em>Design for fast revocation from day one. Short-lived tokens and just-in-time privilege elevation mean a detected compromise has a narrow exposure window instead of a standing credential that stays valid for days.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>A few things worth calling out separately:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Passwordless MFA and centralized SSO reduce the credential attack surface faster than almost any other single control.<\/li>\n<li>Microsegmentation without a dependency map tends to break legitimate traffic before it stops attackers.<\/li>\n<li>PAM with JIT access closes the gap that standing privileged accounts leave wide open.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"how-should-you-roll-out-zero-trust-in-phases\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Should_You_Roll_Out_Zero_Trust_in_Phases\"><\/span>How Should You Roll Out Zero Trust in Phases?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Trying to deploy Zero Trust security principles everywhere at once is how programs stall. A phased approach, consistent with the maturity model <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisa.gov\/topics\/cybersecurity-best-practices\/zero-trust\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">CISA<\/a> publishes, gets you measurable wins without disrupting production.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Phase 1: Identity fundamentals.<\/strong> Deploy SSO and mandatory MFA, finish the asset inventory, and centralize your identity provider. Success looks like widespread adoption of MFA across all accounts and a complete map of your protect surface.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Phase 2: Device posture and adaptive access.<\/strong> Pilot ZTNA for a small set of high-value applications, tie access decisions to device health signals, and start scoring risk dynamically. Success means your pilot apps have no flat network access and posture checks run on every session.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Phase 3: Microsegmentation and automation.<\/strong> Extend segmentation to workload identities, automate policy enforcement through code, and expand ZTNA coverage organization-wide. Success is measured by lateral movement paths closed and the extent of automated policy change deployment.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>None of this works without organizational buy-in. A steering committee, named policy owners, and cross-team coordination between IAM, network, and application teams need to exist before Phase 1 starts, not after Phase 2 stalls. NIST\u2019s implementation examples document 19 working builds worth reviewing before you design your own, since several of the integration headaches are already solved there.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"which-technologies-support-a-zero-trust-architecture\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Which_Technologies_Support_a_Zero_Trust_Architecture\"><\/span>Which Technologies Support a Zero Trust Architecture?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The right tools depend on where you are in the checklist above, but a few categories show up in nearly every serious deployment.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Identity and access management:<\/strong> an IdP with SSO, passwordless authentication, and FIDO2 hardware key support forms the foundation almost everything else builds on.<\/li>\n<li><strong>ZTNA and identity-aware proxies<\/strong> replace the implicit trust a VPN grants once you\u2019re on the network. A VPN authenticates once at the tunnel; ZTNA re-evaluates per application, per session.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Microsegmentation<\/strong> comes in host-based flavors (agents enforcing policy on the endpoint) and network-based flavors (enforcement at the switch or firewall layer). Host-based tends to scale better in cloud-native environments; network-based fits legacy data centers with fixed topology.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Endpoint controls:<\/strong> EDR and MDM generate the posture signals your policy engine needs, and device attestation confirms those signals haven\u2019t been spoofed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Policy enforcement infrastructure:<\/strong> PDP\/PEP architecture, paired with telemetry pipelines feeding SIEM and UEBA platforms, is what turns static rules into adaptive decisions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Data protection:<\/strong> encryption at rest and in transit, DLP tooling, and scoped access based on data classification round out the model.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Industry guidance from <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.aws.amazon.com\/prescriptive-guidance\/latest\/strategy-zero-trust-architecture\/best-practices.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">AWS<\/a> treats strong authentication, microsegmentation, PAM, and continuous monitoring as the non-negotiable baseline, not optional add-ons layered on top of a \u201creal\u201d security stack. Legacy VPN infrastructure doesn\u2019t need to be ripped out overnight. Most teams run ZTNA and VPN in parallel during migration, moving application by application as identity-aware proxies get validated.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"who-should-own-zero-trust-governance-and-metrics\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Who_Should_Own_Zero_Trust_Governance_and_Metrics\"><\/span>Who Should Own Zero Trust Governance and Metrics?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/csuxjmfbwmkxiegfpljm.supabase.co\/storage\/v1\/object\/public\/blog-images\/organization-6456\/1788208742586_Who-Should-Own-Zero-Trust-Governance-and-Metrics-overview-diagram.jpeg\" alt=\"Who Should Own Zero Trust Governance and Metrics? \u2014 overview diagram\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>Zero Trust needs named owners, not a committee that meets quarterly and forgets what it decided. A steering committee sets direction, but day-to-day accountability sits with policy owners (who approve access rule changes) and IAM owners (who run the identity infrastructure everything else depends on). Every policy change needs a change control process, because an unreviewed policy edit is how overly permissive rules creep back in.<\/p>\n<p>Metrics make the program auditable instead of aspirational:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>MFA adoption rate across all accounts, not just privileged ones<\/li>\n<li>Percentage of the protect surface actually covered by policy enforcement<\/li>\n<li>Mean time to detect and contain anomalous access<\/li>\n<li>Percentage of privileged access sessions using just-in-time elevation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Metric<\/th>\n<th>What it tells you<\/th>\n<th>Reporting cadence<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>MFA adoption rate<\/td>\n<td>Credential attack surface remaining<\/td>\n<td>Monthly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Protect surface coverage<\/td>\n<td>Program maturity and scope gaps<\/td>\n<td>Quarterly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Mean time to detect\/contain<\/td>\n<td>Telemetry and response effectiveness<\/td>\n<td>Monthly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>JIT access percentage<\/td>\n<td>Standing privilege exposure<\/td>\n<td>Quarterly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Report these to the steering committee on a fixed cadence. A KPI nobody reviews is a KPI that stops improving.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"what-mistakes-undermine-zero-trust-adoption\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Mistakes_Undermine_Zero_Trust_Adoption\"><\/span>What Mistakes Undermine Zero Trust Adoption?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Scope creep kills momentum fast. Trying to segment the entire network before finishing identity fundamentals leaves teams juggling pilots that never graduate to production.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Identity and entitlement sprawl left uncleaned before enforcement creates false denials that erode trust in the whole program.<\/li>\n<li>Telemetry gaps around unmanaged or shadow IT assets create blind spots no policy engine can see around.<\/li>\n<li>Overly strict adaptive auth without risk-based tuning frustrates users and drives shadow workarounds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Pro Tip:<\/strong> <em>Use risk-based adaptive authentication instead of blanket friction. Step up verification only when a signal actually looks off, like a new device or an impossible-travel login, rather than challenging every request equally.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"how-does-logmeonce-support-these-zero-trust-controls\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Does_LogMeOnce_Support_These_Zero_Trust_Controls\"><\/span>How Does LogMeOnce Support These Zero Trust Controls?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Several of the checklist items above map directly to capabilities <a href=\"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/zero-trust\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LogMeOnce<\/a> provides for identity-first Zero Trust pilots.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Passwordless MFA with FIDO2 support closes the credential gap covered in Phase 1 of the roadmap.<\/li>\n<li>Centralized SSO reduces the identity sprawl that undermines entitlement reviews.<\/li>\n<li>Cloud storage encryption addresses the data protection layer alongside classification and DLP.<\/li>\n<li>Dark web monitoring adds a telemetry signal that feeds risk-based policy decisions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Reviewing LogMeOnce\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/zero-trust-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Zero Trust security resources<\/a> is a reasonable next step if you\u2019re scoping Phase 1 identity work and want to see how a purpose-built platform handles the MFA and SSO pieces without a custom build.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"where-can-you-find-official-zero-trust-standards\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Where_Can_You_Find_Official_Zero_Trust_Standards\"><\/span>Where Can You Find Official Zero Trust Standards?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Start with NIST SP 800-207 for the foundational architecture and tenets. Pair it with NIST SP 1800-35 from the NCCoE for 19 working example builds. CISA\u2019s Zero Trust maturity model and its microsegmentation guidance help with phased planning. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nsa.gov\/Cybersecurity\/ZIG\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">NSA\u2019s Zero Trust Implementation Guidelines<\/a> round out the set with pillar-based capability activities by phase.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"an-editorial-take-on-getting-this-right\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"An_Editorial_Take_on_Getting_This_Right\"><\/span>An Editorial Take on Getting This Right<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Most Zero Trust advice treats it as an architecture decision. It\u2019s actually a governance decision wearing architecture clothes. The technical controls, ZTNA, microsegmentation, PDP\/PEP, aren\u2019t hard to understand on paper. What breaks programs is the absence of a named owner willing to say no to a policy exception at 4 p.m. on a Friday.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/csuxjmfbwmkxiegfpljm.supabase.co\/storage\/v1\/object\/public\/blog-images\/organization-6456\/1788208793069_An-Editorial-Take-on-Getting-This-Right-overview-diagram.jpeg\" alt=\"An Editorial Take on Getting This Right \u2014 overview diagram\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>The conventional advice oversells microsegmentation as the starting point. It isn\u2019t. Identity is. You can run a genuinely effective Zero Trust program for six months on MFA, SSO, and a clean protect surface inventory before you touch a single network segment. Segmentation, without that identity foundation, just adds complexity to a system nobody\u2019s actually verifying yet.<\/p>\n<p>If you take one thing from this: fix entitlement sprawl before you enforce anything. Every pilot I\u2019d bet stalls because someone in the second phase discovers three thousand stale accounts nobody bothered to clean up during phase one. Do that work first. It\u2019s unglamorous, and it\u2019s the entire game.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>\u2014 Mike<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 id=\"sources\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Sources\"><\/span>Sources<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nvlpubs.nist.gov\/nistpubs\/SpecialPublications\/NIST.SP.800-207.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Zero Trust Architecture (NIST SP 800-207)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisa.gov\/topics\/cybersecurity-best-practices\/zero-trust\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">CISA: Zero Trust (topic page &amp; maturity model)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.aws.amazon.com\/prescriptive-guidance\/latest\/strategy-zero-trust-architecture\/best-practices.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">AWS Prescriptive Guidance: Best practices for Zero Trust<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"recommended\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Recommended\"><\/span>Recommended<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/zero-trust-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LogMeOnce Zero Trust Security<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/zero-trust\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Zero Trust Cloud Identity Security Model<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Implement zero trust security this quarter with a prioritized, auditable 8 step checklist. Maps controls to NIST and CISA, with phased rollout, metrics,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":248287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-248285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-logmeonce"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248285"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":248286,"href":"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248285\/revisions\/248286"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/logmeonce.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}