The principle of Zero Trust seems crystal clear: never trust, always verify. This model has become the security standard for modern organizations. But in reality, it stops too soon: still too often reduced to its remote access dimension alone, it disappears as soon as you cross the internal perimeter. The result is two-tier security and gray areas that continue to threaten the resilience of businesses.
A universal model poorly applied
Many organizations have deployed ZTNA solutions to replace their VPNs, strengthen their multi-factor authentication policies, and modernize their identity directories. These are real advances, but they only solve part of the problem.
Once inside the internal network, users, whether human or machine, controlled by outdated security mechanisms, still enjoy implicit trust. The LAN continues to be considered a "safe" zone, even though modern threats spread internally.
Lateral movement remains one of the most underestimated attack vectors: a compromised account, an infected endpoint, or poorly isolated equipment can allow a malicious actor to move unhindered between servers, applications, or environments.
In other words, Zero Trust often stops where it should actually begin: at the very heart of internal infrastructures.
The three pillars of a consistent Zero Trust approach
To achieve a truly consistent security posture, you need to rely on three complementary pillars:
Identity as a foundation
Identity management is the foundation of Zero Trust. Every access, every connection, every flow must be associated with a verified and continuously evaluated identity. This requires rigorous governance of human identities (IAM) and non-human identities (workload identities, service accounts), systematic strong authentication, and continuous analysis of context and behavior. Identity becomes the new perimeter: without it, no trust policy can hold.
Universal access control
Zero Trust requires a uniform control policy, regardless of access point, location, or user type. Universal ZTNA technologies extend this logic beyond remote access: headquarters, branches, industrial sites, clouds, and interconnections must all be treated with the same rigor. This approach removes the artificial boundary between "remote" and "on-premise" and enhances visibility across all connections.
Micro-segmentation to limit propagation
The most overlooked component remains micro-segmentation. It limits internal overconnectivity, restricts traffic to what is strictly necessary, and isolates critical environments (OT, data centers, cloud workloads, etc.). This granularity profoundly transforms the security posture: traffic becomes explicit, visibility is complete, and every communication can be analyzed, verified, and logged.
These three pillars form an inseparable whole: identity verifies "who," access control determines "what" and "where," and micro-segmentation constrains "how."
Changing paradigms: from network segmentation to trust models
Implementing a consistent Zero Trust approach is not about tools; it is a paradigm shift.
It's about moving from a network topology approach to a trust model approach. It's no longer a question of thinking solely in terms of VLANs, DMZ zones, or "internal" segments: every flow must be justified, every communication explicitly authorized, regardless of its topological origin.
This transformation requires detailed mapping of application dependencies, precise knowledge of business flows, and enhanced collaboration between security, network, identity, and operations teams. Only then can granular trust policies be built, based on the actual context of exchanges rather than assumptions inherited from the physical architecture.
Conclusion
Zero Trust is not a product or a standard: it is an architectural framework, an operational philosophy.
As long as organizations continue to draw a line between "outside" and "inside," they will remain vulnerable to the most pernicious threats.
A universal Zero Trust approach, combining identity, access control, and segmentation, is not just a technical ideal: it is a prerequisite for resilience in the face of increasingly stealthy and dynamic attacks.
At Squad Cybersolutions, we champion this demanding vision: that of Zero Trust that doesn't stop at the network gateway, but applies to every identity, every connection, every flow, and every moment.
About Squad Cybersolutions
Squad Cybersolutions, formerly Newlode, is an integrator and Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) specializing in cybersecurity issues. A subsidiary of the Squad Group since the end of 2023, Squad Cybersolutions supports the security of its clients' IT and OT infrastructures, from the consulting phase to the automated multi-vendor management of their architectures. Its strength lies in its ability to build and deploy intelligent environments capable of optimizing their defense against threats. Operating for half of the CAC 40 and SBF 120, Squad Cybersolutions manages international Build/Run projects and has a Paris-based Operation Center that operates 24/7 and relies on a team of experts capable of committing to demanding customer SLAs.
With 1,000 employees in France and internationally, the Squad Group has a turnover of €125 million.
Press contacts
Franck Tupinier
MyNTIC PR
ftupinier@myntic-pr.com
Lily Magagnin
CMO Squad Group
lily.magagnin@squadgroup.com
