ZTNA

What ZTNA is

ZTNA (Zero Trust Network Access) is a remote-access approach based on the “never trust, always verify” principle. Unlike a VPN that places the authenticated user on a network segment with broad access, ZTNA:

• Does not establish a persistent network tunnel. Access is negotiated application by application, dynamically.
• Continuously verifies identity, context (geolocation, device posture) and authorisations.
• Enforces least privilege. A user only sees the resources they explicitly need.

Why replace the VPN

Three main reasons:

1. Reduced attack surface. An attacker who compromises an account does not gain VPN-wide access.
2. Performance. No central concentrator, traffic takes the direct path.
3. Cloud coherence. With a hybrid or fully cloud IT estate, the concept of “internal network” has largely lost meaning.

ZTNA is not a single product

It is an architecture deployed gradually, typically through:

• A strong centralised identity (phishing-resistant MFA, SSO Entra ID / Okta).
• Conditional Access on critical SaaS (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace).
• A ZTNA gateway for internal applications (Cloudflare Access, Zscaler Private Access, BeyondCorp Enterprise, Tailscale, etc.).
• Integration with Hexceos Sentinel for session monitoring and automatic revocation.

ZTNA at Hexceos

We support our clients from ZTNA architecture design to operational rollout, integrated with our 24/7 SOC which watches access anomalies in real time. See cybersecurity and cloud services.