Is Zero Trust a Security Product, or a Philosophy?

Özben Miçooğulları, Senior Manager of Enterprise Sales for Turkey and Qatar at Cloudflare, discussed whether “Zero Trust” is a security product or a philosophy. Miçooğulları stated:

“When people hear ‘Zero Trust,’ they often interpret it as ‘Zero Trust Network Access’ (ZTNA); however, ‘Zero Trust’ is, in fact, a shift in mindset. It should be viewed as a philosophical evolution—a modern, updated version of our traditional ‘defense-in-depth’ architecture, tailored for the current era. While ‘network access’ is a significant component, the concept also extends to areas involving applications and identity. I believe we approach it more accurately when we consider ‘Zero Trust’ primarily as a philosophical shift. ‘Zero Trust Network Access’ serves as a good starting point, but I don’t believe the full ‘Zero Trust’ perspective has yet taken deep root in Türkiye. It is a solid first step, but we need to delve further into aspects concerning applications, identity, and other relevant domains. To achieve maturity in ‘Zero Trust,’ we must view it as an ongoing process—one that touches many different areas. Therefore, it is critical that this is not merely treated as a matter of specific products or the teams that manage them; rather, it must be addressed at the level where information security planning and strategic decision-making take place.”