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Course Outline
Zero Trust Core Principles
- Transition from traditional perimeter defenses to a Zero Trust security model
- Zero Trust foundational tenets: continuous verification, implicit distrust, and least privilege access
- Adherence to the NIST SP 800-207 Zero Trust Architecture framework
- Comparison of Zero Trust methodologies with conventional network security paradigms
- Utilizing open-source technologies for Zero Trust deployment for government
Architectural Components of Zero Trust
- Identity as the primary boundary for access control
- Device trust validation and security posture assessment
- Network isolation via segmentation and micro-segmentation strategies
- Protection mechanisms for application workloads
- Data classification standards and protective controls
- Definition of Policy Enforcement Points and Policy Decision Points
Identity Infrastructure for Zero Trust
- Implementation of identity providers including Keycloak, Authentik, and Dex
- Integration of OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, and SAML protocols
- Deployment of multi-factor authentication controls for government systems
- Context-aware authentication and step-up verification processes
- Management of the full identity lifecycle
- Procedures for identity proofing and verification
Device Trust and Posture Management
- Device enrollment and attestation protocols
- Compliance verification using tools such as Kolide and OSQuery
- Integration of Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) capabilities
- Authentication of devices via digital certificates
- Incorporating Mobile Device Management (MDM) data for posture analysis
- Ongoing assessment of device trustworthiness
Network-Centric Zero Trust Implementation
- Concepts and application of Software-Defined Perimeters (SDP)
- Open-source implementations of SDP frameworks
- Micro-segmentation using OVN, Cilium, and Calico
- Architecture of Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)
- Modernization of remote access by replacing legacy VPN solutions
- Management of network policies through code-based configuration
Identity-Aware Proxies and Access Control Gateways
- Pomerium architecture for identity-aware proxy functions
- vouch-proxy integration for nginx and Apache environments
- Deployment and configuration of OAuth2 Proxy
- Traefik implementation with forward authentication features
- Kong Gateway configuration with OpenID Connect plugins
- Configuration and enforcement of granular access policies
Service Mesh Applications in Zero Trust
- Role of service mesh as a Zero Trust operational fabric
- Istio configuration for Zero Trust environments
- Secure deployment patterns using Linkerd
- Universal mutual TLS (mTLS) for service-to-service identity assurance
- SPIFFE and SPIRE integration for workload identity management
- Authorization policy management within service meshes
- Establishing trust domains across multi-cluster service mesh environments
Public Key Infrastructure and Certificate Management
- Use of certificate-based authentication in Zero Trust frameworks
- Smallstep CA for managing workload identities
- PKI engine capabilities of HashiCorp Vault
- Automation of certificate rotation and lifecycle management
- Establishing internal trust hierarchies with Private Certificate Authorities
- Monitoring and ensuring certificate transparency
Secrets Management Strategies
- HashiCorp Vault for centralized secrets management
- Sealed Secrets for Kubernetes environments
- Utilization of the External Secrets Operator
- SOPS (Secrets OPerationS) for encryption at rest
- Generation of dynamic secrets and automated rotation cycles
- Patterns for injecting secrets into application runtimes
Policy as Code and Authorization Mechanisms
- Fundamentals of the Open Policy Agent (OPA)
- Basics of the Rego policy language
- OPA integration with Kubernetes admission control
- OPA application with Envoy for service-level authorization
- OPA integration with API gateway systems
- Testing and validation methodologies for policies
- Apache APISIX integration with OPA for governance
API Security in Zero Trust Contexts
- Security patterns for API gateways
- Kong open-source deployment with security-focused plugins
- Implementation of rate limiting and DDoS mitigation controls
- API-level authentication and authorization enforcement
- Security considerations specific to GraphQL interfaces
- Detection of API discovery and shadow API risks
Data Protection and DLP Controls
- Frameworks for classifying data sensitivity levels
- Integration of open-source Data Loss Prevention (DLP) tools
- Encryption standards for data in transit and at rest
- Strategies for data tokenization and masking
- Formulation of Data Loss Prevention policies
- Handling of sovereign data within Zero Trust architectures
Continuous Authentication and Authorization
- Session management protocols in Zero Trust environments
- Mechanisms for continuous authentication validation
- Context-aware decision-making for access rights
- Dynamic authorization based on risk scoring
- Triggers for step-up authentication requirements
- Real-time enforcement of security policies
Monitoring and Observability in Zero Trust
- Collection and analysis of security telemetry
- SIEM integration utilizing open-source security tools
- User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) implementations
- Audit logging standards and compliance reporting for government
- Machine learning applications for anomaly detection
- Configuration of security dashboards and alerting systems
Zero Trust for Cloud-Native Workloads
- Container security principles within a Zero Trust context
- Management of ephemeral workload identities
- Use of admission controllers for Zero Trust enforcement
- Runtime security monitoring with Falco and Tetragon
- Network policies for container-level segmentation
- Implementation of immutable infrastructure patterns
Zero Trust Implementation Roadmap
- Conducting maturity assessments and gap analyses
- Development of a phased implementation strategy
- Design and execution of pilot projects
- Change management strategies for user adoption
- Definition of success metrics for Zero Trust initiatives
- Identification of challenges and common pitfalls to avoid
Production Deployment and Operations
- Design patterns for high availability in Zero Trust stacks
- Disaster recovery planning for Zero Trust infrastructure
- Strategies for performance optimization
- Troubleshooting authentication and authorization failures
- Procedures for upgrading and patching Zero Trust components
- Creation of documentation and operational runbooks
Future Directions in Zero Trust and Open Source
- Emerging industry standards and protocol developments
- Considerations for quantum-safe Zero Trust implementations
- Role of AI/ML in Zero Trust decision-making processes
- Federated Zero Trust architectures for distributed entities
- Community resources and ongoing development for government use
- Summary of key concepts and recommended next steps
Requirements
- Strong understanding of network security concepts and principles
- Experience with identity and access management systems
- Knowledge of PKI, certificates, and encryption fundamentals
- Familiarity with microservices and container architectures
- Experience deploying and managing open-source software
Target Audience
- Security Architects and Engineers
- Infrastructure Architects designing modern security postures
- DevSecOps Engineers implementing security pipelines
- Network Administrators transitioning to zero trust models
35 Hours
