Zero Trust Cloud Architecture in AWS & Azure: Moving Beyond Network Perimeters

Identity Is the New Control Plane

Zero trust assumes networks are hostile and every request needs explicit verification. In cloud environments, workload and human identities matter more than source IP addresses.

Continuous Verification

Evaluate identity, device posture, workload context, requested resource and risk signals for each access decision. Use short-lived credentials and step-up authentication for sensitive actions.

Least Privilege Across Clouds

Design task-specific roles, eliminate standing administrator access and review effective permissions. Separate control-plane administration from application deployment.

Microsegmentation

Use security groups, private endpoints and service identities to define permitted flows. Segment by application and data sensitivity rather than broad environment labels.

Measure and Improve

• Track unused permissions and long-lived credentials
• Alert on privilege escalation and anomalous access
• Test isolation paths during architecture reviews
• Continuously validate policy drift