Implementing Zero Trust in Cloud

When to Use

• When migrating from traditional perimeter-based security to identity-centric access controls
• When eliminating VPN dependencies for remote workforce access to cloud applications
• When implementing continuous verification for every access request regardless of network location
• When designing micro-segmentation strategies for multi-cloud workloads
• When regulatory requirements mandate zero trust architecture adoption (federal mandates, NIST guidelines)

Do not use for simple VPN replacement without broader architectural changes, for network firewall rule management alone (see implementing-cloud-network-segmentation), or for identity provider initial setup (see managing-cloud-identity-with-okta).

Prerequisites

• Identity provider capable of OIDC/SAML integration (Okta, Azure AD, Google Workspace)
• Device management solution for endpoint trust assessment (Intune, Jamf, Google Endpoint Verification)
• Cloud workloads accessible via HTTPS with load balancer or reverse proxy infrastructure
• SIEM platform for continuous monitoring of access decisions and anomaly detection