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The Cyber Ecosystem
Zeroing In on Answers
MEF is creating SASE (MEF W117) and Zero Trust (MEF W118) service standards to provide the industry with common language and definitions, which will allow CISOs to compare “apples to apples” when choosing and implementing Zero Trust solutions. Removing some of the complexity allows CISOs to secure digital services regardless of where and how network resources are accessed. These standards ultimately helps the industry achieve interoperability while still allowing competitive differentiation.
In much the same way that enterprise network usage conditions and practices have forever changed, enterprise security is changing too. Zero Trust is helping to create a new mode of thinking around security architecture and defensive measures defined around user identity and context.
Getting this evolution right is important because it brings us that much closer to a future in which identity—like networks, data, and applications before it—will become more decentralized. Web 3.0 promises the benefits of blockchain technology for uses like Decentralized IDs (DIDs), giving greater control to users to establish the details of their identities and define the rules for how their private data can be shared, and which companies and applications can subscribe to engage with them.
Authentication and authorization through Zero Trust is the key to unlocking contextual enterprise access in a world where the old boundaries are quickly disappearing. As it turns out, trusting no one is the best way to help everyone, and MEF’s work will help simplify and reduce the complexity of deploying and managing Zero Trust.
About the Author
Pascal Menezes is the chief technology officer at MEF.