Cloud Security Company Zscaler Inc. today announced Zero Trust Segmentation, a solution that provides more secure, agile and cost-effective ways to connect users, devices and workloads across distributed locations.

At the heart of the new offering is the ability to eliminate the need for traditional firewalls, software-defined wide area networks and site-to-site virtual private networks by transforming branch offices, factories and cloud environments into “islands “virtual” isolated and secure. These environments connect directly to the Zscaler cloud platform, which enforces business policies to prevent the spread of ransomware, secure the Internet of Things and operational technology systems, and reduce network complexity.

Zscaler says traditional networks, including SD-WAN and site-to-site VPNs, while expanding enterprise connectivity, have also accelerated the spread of ransomware. Although firewalls can be used to perform segmentation on networks, they often add complexity and increase costs.

The company’s new Zero Trust segmentation addresses these issues by preventing ransomware attacks and transforming branches into “simplified café-like environments” and, in doing so, eliminating the need for firewalls, controls network access, SD-WAN and site-to-site VPN. .

With the new offering, each location becomes a virtual island that communicates directly with the Zscaler cloud security platform. The Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform then applies business policies to securely connect users, workloads, and devices, helping to minimize the attack surface, preventing ransomware from spreading between locations and eliminate firewalls and other traditional solutions.

The offering is divided into two parts: Zero Trust segmentation for branches and factories and Zero Trust segmentation for data centers and public clouds.

The branch and factory version is focused on protecting environments with a high prevalence of IoT and operational technology systems. With many OT devices running on outdated operating systems and vulnerable to attack, Zscaler’s solution enables rapid segmentation of these devices within hours, eliminating the need for a traditional north-south firewall.

The data center and public cloud version addresses the complexities of securing hybrid and multi-cloud environments. By eliminating Internet firewalls and site-to-site VPNs, the solution reduces attack surfaces while standardizing security across various cloud services. It secures traffic between clouds, data centers and virtual private clouds, streamlining workload communications without relying on existing infrastructure such as direct connections.

“Using firewalls to segment enterprise networks is extremely complex and is becoming a never-ending endeavor for many organizations,” said Dhawal Sharma, executive vice president of product management at Zscaler. “The integration of advanced technology of recent Acquisition of AirGapZscaler Zero Trust Segmentation now offers the most advanced and robust protection against ransomware attacks, which can be implemented in days. :

Sharma added that “additionally, it provides savings of up to 50% by eliminating the need for legacy firewalls and complex infrastructure.”

Sam Curry, Chief Information Security Officer at Zscaler, spoke with theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s live streaming studio, in Augustwhen discussing the role of leadership in cybersecurity innovation:

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