Zero trust architecture solutions
Optimize your zero trust investments and extend zero trust security across your entire digital estate.
Unified zero trust for applications and APIs
The F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform (ADSP) provides the foundation for zero trust in hybrid, multicloud, and AI-driven environments. Zero trust application access control is core, but zero trust also requires protection for APIs, data, workloads, networks, users, and devices. F5 ADSP delivers unified visibility, policy enforcement, and threat intelligence at the application layer, helping organizations secure and control access to applications wherever they run.
Zero trust access for users and devices
Authenticate and authorize every user, device, and request with identity- and context-aware access policies.
Reduce risk with least privilege
Grant users only the verified access they need—nothing more—to reduce attack surface and prevent breaches.
Detect and block threats in real time
Continuously assess users, devices, and traffic to detect anomalies in real time and stop threats before they spread.
Protect the #1 target—applications
F5 ADSP protects apps, APIs, and components across on-prem, cloud, and hybrid environments—wherever they run.
Explore zero trust architecture use cases
Zero trust application access
Zero trust application access
Zero trust application accesswith F5 uses Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP) to verify user identity and context before every access request.
Unlike traditional Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), which enforces access at the session or resource level (L4–L7), zero trust application access applies per-request, Layer 7 application-layer controls.
This “never trust, always verify” model strengthens security by continuously authenticating users for each app, API, and data request, reducing risk and delivering precise, resource-level access control.
F5 BIG-IP Zero Trust Access
Delivers zero trust application access with policy-based user authentication.
Encrypted threat protection
Encrypted threat protection
Encrypted threat protection strengthens zero trust security with high-performance SSL/TLS decryption, re-encryption, and intelligent traffic orchestration.
By decrypting encrypted traffic at scale, organizations enable existing security tools to inspect and detect hidden threats like ransomware and malware without creating blind spots.
This approach prevents policy bypass, maintains regulatory compliance, and ensures encrypted traffic is securely inspected and re-encrypted—protecting applications, APIs, and users without sacrificing performance.
F5 BIG-IP SSL Orchestrator
Exposes shadow AI with policy-based decryption and deep traffic inspection.
Zero trust for Kubernetes
Zero trust for Kubernetes
Zero trust for Kubernetes secures every application and API communication with strong authentication, authorization, and end-to-end encryption.
Enforce identity-based policies and least-privilege access controls while applying Web Application Firewall (WAF) and DoS protection to defend against threats.
With continuous monitoring and Layer 7 visibility, organizations can protect Kubernetes workloads, prevent lateral movement, and secure cloud-native environments without slowing innovation.
F5 NGINX One
Manage and secure API traffic in modern environments with NGINX tooling
F5 WAF for NGINX
Secures workloads with advanced layer 7 controls in dynamic Kubernetes.
F5 DoS for NGINX
Protects against DoS attacks using multi-layered, adaptive functionality.
Data leakage detection & prevention
Data leakage detection & prevention
Data leakage detection and prevention technology protects sensitive data in motion with real-time traffic inspection, in-transit data classification, and policy-driven enforcement.
By continuously monitoring application and API traffic, organizations can detect and block unauthorized data exfiltration, enforce compliance requirements, and reduce insider and external threats.
Secure data across cloud, hybrid, and on-prem environments without disrupting business operations.
F5 BIG-IP LTM
Terminate, inspect, and steer app traffic to enforce policy-driven data controls.
F5 BIG-IP SSL Orchestrator
Exposes shadow AI with policy-based decryption and deep traffic inspection.
Application runtime protection
Application runtime protection
Advance zero trust security with layered protection for web applications and APIs.
Combine Web Application Firewall (WAF), DDoS protection, bot management, and API security to inspect every request, enforce consistent security policies, and stop threats in real time.
Protect applications across hybrid and multicloud environments—whether deployed on-prem, in the cloud, or at the edge—while maintaining performance, visibility, and control.
F5 Distributed Cloud WAF
Scalable SaaS WAF provides web app security and observability across environments.
F5 Distributed Cloud DDoS Mitigation
Detects and mitigates attacks before they reach network infrastructure and applications.
F5 Distributed Cloud API Security
Discover and map APIs, block unwanted traffic and connections, and prevent data leakage.
F5 Distributed Cloud Bot Defense
Defend against malicious bots and other automated attacks to ensure safe user experiences.
F5 BIG-IP Advanced WAF
Protect apps, APIs, and data from vulnerability exploits, app-layer DoS attacks, and bots.
Results and recognition
Technology alliances
Resources
Analyst reports
Solution overviews
SOLUTION OVERVIEW
F5 Zero Trust Architecture Solutions
SOLUTION OVERVIEW
Zero Trust in an Application-Centric World
SOLUTION OVERVIEW
The Gateway to a Zero Trust Architecture
Frequently asked questions
Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) is a security model that assumes no user, device, application, or network is trusted by default. It assumes an attack has already occurred and attacker are present. Access is granted only after explicit verification of identity, device posture, context, and policy on every request. ZTA enforces least-privilege access and continuous monitoring, ensuring users can only access the specific applications and resources they are authorized to use, regardless of where those apps or users are located.
Traditional VPNs provide broad network-level access that is session based once a user is authenticated, often exposing large portions of the internal network. Zero Trust Application Access (ZTAA) restricts access at the application or resource level, verifying identity and context for each user session or request. ZTAA limits lateral movement, reduces attack surface, and aligns access to least privilege, making it more secure for modern, distributed application environments.
Implementing zero trust in hybrid or multicloud environments requires consistent, identity-aware policy enforcement across on-premises, cloud, Kubernetes, and edge deployments. This includes authenticating every request, enforcing least-privilege access to applications and APIs, inspecting encrypted traffic, and continuously monitoring behavior. A platform-based approach enables centralized policy, visibility, and enforcement while integrating with existing identity providers and security tools across environments.
Micro-segmentation limits access between applications, services, and workloads by enforcing granular, identity- and context-aware policies. Instead of trusting network location, micro-segmentation restricts communication to only what is explicitly required, reducing lateral movement and blast radius during a breach. In a zero trust model, micro-segmentation is applied at the application, API, and data level, not just the network layer, aligning security directly to business workloads.
Yes. Zero trust can be implemented incrementally alongside legacy systems without requiring application rewrites. By enforcing identity-aware access, traffic inspection, and policy controls in front of existing applications, organizations can modernize security while preserving current investments. This approach allows legacy, on-premises, and modern cloud applications to coexist under a consistent Zero Trust Architecture, enabling gradual adoption without operational disruption.