Imagine your home where you want to keep everything safe. In a traditional setup, you might lock the front door but once someone is inside, they can go anywhere they like—into the kitchen, the bedroom, everywhere. That’s how older computer security systems work: they focus mainly on keeping bad people out, but once someone gets in, they often have free rein.
Zero-trust security is like setting up a security check at every door inside your home. Even if someone manages to get past your front door, they can’t just wander around. They would need the right key and a valid reason to enter each room. Every time they try to enter a room, they need to prove who they are and that they really need to be there. This means even if a burglar gets in through the front door, they can’t do much damage because they’re limited to where they can go and what they can do.
So, in zero-trust for computers and networks, no one and nothing is trusted just because they are already inside. They are continually checked to make sure they should have access to the data and areas they’re trying to reach. This makes it much harder for bad people to do harm if they manage to get into the system.
