"Many deployments treat identity as a static checkpoint, despite Zero Trust's mandate to "never trust, always verify." There is a typical pattern: users enjoy extended session durations without revalidation after passing MFA at login. At the same time, threat landscapes are constantly changing; anomalous activities, compromised devices, and stolen tokens are all overlooked during the session. A $40 million Zero Trust rollout in a major U.S. healthcare network is an example."
"Its primary Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, which is essential for patient care, was still based on antiquated authentication methods that allowed for persistent sessions after logging in. Because the system never questioned the user's trust in the middle of a session, an attacker who gained access to a clinician's laptop was able to access thousands of private patient records without being detected."
Zero Trust often fails because identity is treated as a static checkpoint that verifies users only at login. Extended sessions, persistent sessions after MFA, and fixed role-based access leave applications exposed as threats evolve during a session. Adaptive identity continuously evaluates trust using changing context and risk signals such as device posture, anomalous behavior, and token integrity. Continuous revalidation and risk-based access decisions reduce the window of exposure and detect compromised endpoints or credentials. Organizations should integrate adaptive identity capabilities into Zero Trust roadmaps, update legacy authentication flows, and apply real-world controls to close identity blind spots and strengthen defenses.
Read at Securitymagazine
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