A Study on Rapid Adoption of Zero Trust Network Architectures by Global Organizations Due to COVID-19 Pandemic

As organizations evaluate different methods to improve data security, they must shift to find the best alternative means to secure the servers. Zero Trust Network Architecture (ZTNA) has become the focus of many institutions to prevent data loss, especially from the employees working remotely due to the spread of COVID-19, requiring people to keep social distance minimize risks of an attack. Zero trust employs a multifactor authentication process that requires all users to verify their identity or the device they are using before using a network. This security procedure has been useful in eliminating the castle-and-moat concept's weaknesses that were initially used and could allow an individual to navigate freely through a network once they penetrated the firewall. The Zero trust does not allow the penetration and further segment of different materials; therefore, an individual cannot access all materials once in a network. This cybersecurity method will be advantageous post COVID-19 to deliver a simplified user experience enabling them to manage and find the contents with ease. For the customers, the architecture creates a uniform platform that can be used to amplify the security. The technology is a must for cost-benefit analysis for every organization considering its potential to help avoid potential security and financial losses. Hence this article aims to study the overall motivations including challenges and benefits for organizations that have either adopted or in midst of evaluating different options including ZTNA to rapidly enable their workforce to work-from-home in a secure efficient manner.