Smarter and Faster Lateral Threat Mitigation with AI-powered App Segmentation

ZPA is built based on the zero trust concept that all users/clients, including partners and other third-party users, must be authenticated, authorized, and continuously validated for security posture before being granted access through the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange. Unlike a VPN, users do not connect to the network; they are only provided access to an allowed application per security policy. AI-powered App Segmentation, at the core of ZPA, plays an important role in this.

In the SSE framework, the software-defined perimeter ensures that only authorized users can access private applications via dedicated tunnels, eliminating the need for a traditional network perimeter. Zscaler AI-powered App Segmentation leverages AI/ML algorithms to:

• Identify and segment applications granularly
• Analyze transaction data to recommend user access

With its AI/ML engine, ZPA uses this data to enhance security policies, significantly reducing the attack surface. It dynamically adjusts access policies based on user requests, authentication, and device integrity, creating a secure tunnel directly to the specified application. This continuous monitoring and adaptive access make ZPA a leading solution for ZTNA-based private application access.

With ZPA, deploying user-to-app segmentation is straightforward and scalable. Simply define your application segments, implement policies, and then visualize the results of the segmentation.

1. Bootstrapping Application Import from third-party sources, including but not limited to:
   1. Configuration management databases (CMDB) such as ServiceNow
   2. Vulnerability assessment providers such as Qualys and Tenable
   3. Cybersecurity asset management (CSAM) services
2. App Discovery using wildcard app segments
3. AI-powered recommendations to create app segments with user groups/departments based on transaction analysis
4. Use actionable insights to further refine app segments and access policy by understanding user access