Path 24: Zero Trust Architecture — KashSec Academy

Never trust, always verify — identity, device trust, micro-segmentation, ZTNA, continuous verification, and how to actually roll this out. 18 free lessons, advanced level, starting with "What is Zero Trust?"

Level: Advanced · 18 lessons · Free, no account needed.

Lessons in this path

  1. What is Zero Trust? — Why the perimeter model broke, and the three core principles that replaced it.
  2. Identity as the New Perimeter — MFA, conditional access, and why identity anchors every other Zero Trust control.
  3. Device Trust & Posture Verification — Why a correct password isn't enough — checking the device, not just the user.
  4. Micro-Segmentation & Network Design — Default-deny, blast radius, and containing what a flat network never could.
  5. Continuous Verification & Adaptive Access — Risk-based, adaptive access that keeps checking throughout a session, not just at login.
  6. Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) vs. Traditional VPN — Why ZTNA grants an app, not a network — and what that changes.
  7. Zero Trust in Cloud-Native Environments — Workload identity, IAM as segmentation, and service mesh in a world with no fixed perimeter.
  8. Implementing Zero Trust: A Practical Roadmap — Sequencing, governance, and metrics for a real multi-year rollout.
  9. Data-Centric Zero Trust — Classification, DLP, and rights management — the last line of defense once access is granted.
  10. Zero Trust for APIs & Microservices — mTLS, service identity, and per-service least privilege for internal service-to-service traffic.
  11. Privileged Access Management Under Zero Trust — Just-in-Time elevation, break-glass accounts, and closing the standing-access gap.
  12. Zero Trust for Third Parties & Vendor Access — Federated identity and time-boxed access for the population outside your control.
  13. Zero Trust Maturity Models — CISA's five pillars and four stages — measuring progress instead of guessing at it.
  14. Analytics & Monitoring for Zero Trust — UEBA and composite risk scoring — the connective tissue between every other pillar.
  15. Common Zero Trust Pitfalls — Where real rollouts break: exemptions, legacy excuses, and measuring adoption instead of risk.
  16. Zero Trust for Remote & Hybrid Work — Applying the full stack without a location-based double standard.
  17. Zero Trust Careers & Certifications — Where Zero Trust fluency shows up in job postings, and how to build it.
  18. Case Studies & Capstone: Assess a Zero Trust Maturity — BeyondCorp and real-world lessons, then a full maturity assessment exercise.