1375  Zero-Trust Policy Simulator

Implement Zero-Trust Security

1375.1 Zero-Trust Policy Simulator

Design zero-trust access policies and test them against various scenarios. This interactive tool demonstrates how conditional access policies evaluate multiple factors before granting or denying access to resources.

NoteTool Overview

The Zero Trust security model operates on the principle of “never trust, always verify.” This simulator allows you to:

  1. Build policy rules with multiple conditions (user role, device health, location, etc.)
  2. Test access scenarios against your policies
  3. Visualize the decision process through an interactive decision tree
  4. Detect policy conflicts and gaps in coverage
  5. Review an audit log of access decisions
TipHow to Use This Tool
  1. Create policies: Add rules with conditions and access decisions
  2. Select a test scenario: Choose from pre-built scenarios or customize
  3. Run evaluation: See how your policies handle the access request
  4. Review the decision tree: Understand the evaluation flow
  5. Check the audit log: Track all access attempts and decisions

1375.2 Understanding Zero Trust Security

The Zero Trust model fundamentally changes how we approach security:

1375.2.1 Traditional vs Zero Trust

Aspect Traditional (Perimeter) Zero Trust
Trust Model Trust internal network Never trust, always verify
Verification At perimeter only Every access request
Network Position Determines trust level Does not grant trust
Access Control Network-based Identity and context-based
Lateral Movement Often unrestricted Continuously monitored

1375.2.2 Zero Trust Principles

TipCore Zero Trust Principles
  1. Verify explicitly: Always authenticate and authorize based on all available data
  2. Use least privilege access: Limit user access with just-in-time and just-enough-access
  3. Assume breach: Minimize blast radius and segment access, verify end-to-end encryption

1375.3 Policy Conditions Explained

1375.3.1 User Role

  • Admin: Full system administrators
  • Employee: Regular staff members
  • Contractor: External workers with limited tenure
  • Guest: Visitors with minimal access needs
  • Device: Machine identities (IoT, servers)

1375.3.2 Device Type

  • Managed Laptop: Corporate-issued, MDM-enrolled
  • Managed Mobile: Corporate phone/tablet
  • BYOD: Personal devices used for work
  • IoT Device: Sensors, cameras, actuators
  • Unknown: Unrecognized devices

1375.3.3 Device Health

  • Compliant: Meets all security requirements
  • Non-compliant: Missing updates or configurations
  • Unknown: Health status cannot be determined
  • Compromised: Known security incident detected

1375.3.4 Location

  • Office: Corporate premises
  • Home: Remote work from known home network
  • Public: Coffee shops, airports, hotels
  • Foreign: International locations
  • Unknown: Unrecognized network

1375.4 Building Effective Policies

1375.4.2 Example Policy Set for IoT Environments

Priority 1:  deviceHealth=compromised → DENY
Priority 5:  userRole=guest, resource=restricted → DENY
Priority 10: userRole=device, deviceType=iot, health=compliant → LIMITED
Priority 20: userRole=employee, device=managed, location=office → ALLOW
Priority 30: userRole=employee, location=home → MFA REQUIRED
Priority 100: * → DENY (default)

1375.5 What’s Next


This simulator implements:

  1. Policy rule builder: Multi-condition rule creation with priority
  2. Access decision engine: Evaluates requests against sorted policy set
  3. Decision tree visualization: Shows evaluation path through policies
  4. Conflict detection: Identifies potentially overlapping rules
  5. Gap analysis: Highlights missing security coverage
  6. Audit logging: Records access decisions for review
  7. Pre-built scenarios: Common access patterns for testing

Educational simplifications:

  • Real zero-trust systems use more condition types (risk scores, behavior analytics)
  • Policy languages are more expressive (AND/OR/NOT logic)
  • Decisions may include granular permissions (read/write/execute)
  • Integration with SIEM, SOAR, and identity providers