Zscaler Introduces Innovations in Intelligent Segmentation to Extend Zero Trust to Branches, Factories and Clouds

Rhea-AI Summary

Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS) has launched the industry's first Zero Trust Segmentation solution to enhance security and cost-effectiveness across branches, factories, and clouds. The new solution prevents ransomware attacks while eliminating the need for traditional firewalls, network access control, SD-WAN, and site-to-site VPNs, potentially reducing infrastructure costs by up to 50%. The technology, integrated from the recent AirGap acquisition, allows organizations to secure communications between users, devices, and workloads across distributed locations through the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange™ platform. The solution currently supports AWS and Azure, with GCP support planned for February 2025.

Positive

• New Zero Trust Segmentation solution could reduce infrastructure costs by 50%
• Technology eliminates need for expensive traditional security infrastructure
• Solution can be implemented within days, offering faster deployment
• Expansion of cloud support to include GCP by February 2025

Negative

• cloud platform support currently (only AWS and Azure)
• Requires complete infrastructure change from traditional security systems

Insights

Security Technology Analyst

This innovative Zero Trust Segmentation solution represents a significant technological leap in enterprise security architecture. The solution addresses critical vulnerabilities in traditional network security approaches by eliminating the need for conventional firewalls and complex infrastructure, potentially reducing costs by 50%.

The technology's ability to create virtual islands for each branch and cloud environment, while maintaining secure communications through the Zscaler cloud platform, effectively minimizes attack surfaces and prevents ransomware propagation. The integration of AirGap acquisition technology and support for major cloud providers (AWS, Azure) demonstrates a comprehensive approach to modern security challenges.

This development could significantly impact Zscaler's market position, particularly given the rising threats to OT systems and the increasing adoption of multi-cloud environments by enterprises. The endorsements from Gray Television and IIFL validate the solution's real-world effectiveness.

New Solution Prevents Lateral Movement from Ransomware Attacks, Cutting Firewall and Infrastructure Spend in Half

SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS), the leader in cloud security, today announced the industry’s first Zero Trust Segmentation solution to provide a more secure, agile and cost-effective means to connect users, devices, and workloads across and within globally distributed branches, factories, campuses, data centers, and public clouds.

While traditional networks, including SD-WAN and site-to-site VPN, have extended enterprise connectivity to branches and clouds, they have also inadvertently accelerated the spread of ransomware. Although firewalls are used to do segmentation on networks, they add complexity, increase costs, and fail to provide adequate security. Zero Trust Segmentation for branch and cloud is an innovative solution that prevents ransomware attacks, turns branches into simplified café-like environments and in the process eliminates the need for firewalls, network access control (NAC), SD-WAN and site-to-site VPNs.

With a Zero Trust architecture, organizations are no longer required to extend the corporate network from the data center to distributed locations and public clouds. Each branch, factory and public cloud becomes a virtual island that communicates directly with the Zscaler cloud security platform over any broadband connection. The Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange™ platform then applies business policies to securely connect users, workloads and devices. As a result, Zscaler minimizes the attack surface associated with public IPs, prevents ransomware from spreading between locations, and eliminates firewalls, SD-WAN and the reliance on Direct Connect and ExpressRoute.

“Traditional network and security architectures enable the spread of ransomware," said Dhawal Sharma, EVP of Product Management at Zscaler. "Using firewalls to segment business networks is extremely complex, turning into a never-ending initiative for many organizations. Integrating advanced technology from the recent AirGap acquisition, Zscaler Zero Trust Segmentation now offers the most advanced, robust protection against ransomware attacks, which can be implemented in days. Additionally, it delivers up to 50% cost savings by eliminating the need for legacy firewalls and complex infrastructures.”

Zero Trust Segmentation for Branches and Factories
With the increasing prevalence of IoT devices and operational technology (OT) systems in today's branch offices and factories, security leaders are urgently working to protect their environments from sophisticated attacks. A recent Zscaler ThreatLabz report revealed that over 50% of OT devices rely on legacy, end-of-life operating systems with known vulnerabilities, leaving them highly susceptible to attacks. Zscaler's solution securely segments every device—including legacy OT— within hours, without north-south firewalls.

“As OT devices are becoming increasingly common in our environment, ensuring their security is a top priority,” said Brian Morris, Vice President, Chief Information Security Officer, Gray Television. “Zscaler Zero Trust Branch has been nothing short of transformative. It has not only helped us reduce network costs, but has significantly reduced cyber risk and helped accelerate M&A integration.”

Zero Trust Segmentation for Data Center and Public Clouds
Relying on firewalls to secure workload communications in hybrid and multi-cloud environments increases business risk and complexity. Each internet-facing firewall presents a discoverable attack surface and can lead to inconsistent cyber threat and data protection, as each public cloud service provider operates differently. Zscaler Zero Trust Segmentation standardizes multi-cloud workload security for internet-bound traffic, communication between clouds and data centers, between Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs), and between workloads and processes. This scalable approach eliminates the need for firewalls, site-to-site VPNs, Direct Connect, or ExpressRoute, simplifying and strengthening security across diverse cloud environments.

“Cloud is a critical component of our infrastructure, and we depend on Zscaler’s Zero Trust architecture to secure our cloud workloads,” said Shanker Ramrakhiani, CISO at IIFL. “Zscaler’s Zero Trust Cloud has empowered us to enforce consistent security across our data centers and multiple clouds, simplifying operations and significantly reducing the risk of lateral threat movement.”

Zero Trust Segmentation currently supports AWS and Azure, with GCP support slated for February 2025.

To learn more about Zero Trust Segmentation, please visit http://zscaler.com/ztsegmentation.

About Zscaler
Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS) accelerates digital transformation so customers can be more agile, efficient, resilient, and secure. The Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange™ platform protects thousands of customers from cyberattacks and data loss by securely connecting users, devices, and applications in any location. Distributed across more than 150 data centers globally, the SASE-based Zero Trust Exchange™ is the world’s largest in-line cloud security platform.

Zscaler™ and the other trademarks listed at https://www.zscaler.com/legal/trademarks are either (i) registered trademarks or service marks or (ii) trademarks or service marks of Zscaler, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Any other trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on our management's beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. These forward-looking statements include the expected benefits of the new Zero Trust Segmentation solution to Zscaler’s customers. These forward-looking statements are subject to the safe harbor provisions created by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. A significant number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from statements made in this press release, including those factors related to our ability to successfully implement and deploy our Zero Trust Segmentation solution across platforms and we believe this will result in improved efficiency and cost savings for our customers. Additional risks and uncertainties are set forth in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on September 12, 2024, which is available on our website at ir.zscaler.com and on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Any forward-looking statements in this release are based on the limited information currently available to Zscaler as of the date hereof, which is subject to change, and Zscaler will not necessarily update the information, even if new information becomes available in the future.

Media Contact:

Zscaler PR
Natalia Wodecki
press@zscaler.com    

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5923424e-3292-4b01-b160-0a3945e51bc5

FAQ

What is Zscaler's (ZS) new Zero Trust Segmentation solution?

Zscaler's Zero Trust Segmentation is a security solution that provides secure connectivity across branches, factories, and clouds while preventing ransomware attacks and eliminating the need for traditional security infrastructure like firewalls and SD-WAN.

How much cost reduction does Zscaler's (ZS) new segmentation solution offer?

Zscaler's Zero Trust Segmentation solution can deliver up to 50% cost savings by eliminating the need for legacy firewalls and complex infrastructures.

Which cloud platforms does Zscaler's (ZS) Zero Trust Segmentation support?

The solution currently supports AWS and Azure, with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) support scheduled for February 2025.

How quickly can Zscaler's (ZS) Zero Trust Segmentation be implemented?

According to the announcement, Zscaler's Zero Trust Segmentation solution can be implemented in days.