Executive Summary

The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) has published the first two installments of its Zero Trust Implementation Guidelines (ZIGs), aiming to provide a clear and actionable path for organizations, particularly within the federal government, to transition to a Zero Trust architecture. The new documents, a "Primer" and a guide for the "Discovery Phase," establish the strategic foundation for the series. They are aligned with the Department of War (DoW) CIO's Zero Trust Framework, which mandates that defense agencies implement 91 specific activities. The NSA's guidance focuses on helping organizations build essential visibility into their environments as the critical first step before deploying advanced Zero Trust controls.

Regulatory Details

The ZIG series represents a strategic effort by the NSA to operationalize high-level Zero Trust concepts into practical, modular guidance.

The Primer

The "Primer" serves as an introduction to the entire ZIG series. It outlines the core principles and the overall modular approach. This design acknowledges that organizations are at different levels of maturity and allows them to adopt capabilities that fit their specific needs and priorities, rather than enforcing a rigid, linear implementation plan. The NSA intends for this new series to eventually supersede and update its previous Cybersecurity Information Sheet (CSI) publications on Zero Trust.

The Discovery Phase

This document details the critical first phase of any Zero Trust journey: discovery. It emphasizes that before any controls can be implemented, an organization must achieve comprehensive visibility. The key activities outlined include:

1. Identify and Catalog DAAS: Create a complete inventory of all Data, Applications, Assets, and Services.
2. Identify and Catalog Users and Entities: Document all human users (Personal Entities or PEs) and non-human entities (Non-Person Entities or NPEs), such as service accounts and APIs.
3. Map Access and Authorization: Analyze and map all existing access patterns, data flows, and authorization activities to understand who and what is accessing resources, and why.

This foundational baseline is essential for informed strategic planning, prioritizing implementation efforts, and measuring progress against Zero Trust goals.

Affected Organizations

While the guidance is primarily aimed at U.S. federal agencies and organizations within the Department of War ecosystem, its principles and recommendations are broadly applicable to any public or private sector entity seeking to implement a Zero Trust architecture. The documents are intended for a wide audience, including:

• System Owners and Administrators
• Cybersecurity Professionals
• IT Architects and Planners
• Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs)

Compliance Requirements

For DoW agencies, this guidance directly supports the mandate to achieve "target level" Zero Trust maturity by implementing 91 specific activities. The "Discovery Phase" provides the necessary steps to build the foundation required for subsequent phases, which will cover more advanced capabilities. Adherence to this guidance will be crucial for demonstrating compliance with federal cybersecurity directives and maturing an organization's security posture.

Implementation Timeline

The release of the "Primer" and "Discovery Phase" marks the beginning of the NSA's ZIG series. The agency has announced that subsequent documents detailing Phase One and Phase Two implementation steps will be released in the near future. Organizations are advised to begin their discovery phase now to prepare for the more technical guidance to come. The process of discovery is not a one-time project but an ongoing activity that must be maintained as the IT environment evolves.

Compliance Guidance

Organizations should take the following steps to align with the new NSA guidance:

1. Review the Guidance: Key stakeholders should thoroughly read both the "Primer" and "Discovery Phase" documents to understand the NSA's strategic approach.
2. Assemble a Cross-Functional Team: The discovery process requires input from IT, security, application owners, and business units. Form a dedicated team to lead this effort.
3. Leverage Existing Tools: Utilize existing asset management, identity and access management (IAM), and network monitoring tools to begin cataloging DAAS and user entities. This can be supported by D3FEND techniques like Domain Account Monitoring (D3-DAM) and System File Analysis (D3-SFA).
4. Prioritize Critical Systems: Begin the discovery process by focusing on the most critical and sensitive systems and data stores. This will provide the most immediate risk reduction insights.
5. Establish a Continuous Monitoring Baseline: Use the initial discovery data to establish a baseline of normal activity. This baseline is fundamental for future anomaly detection and policy enforcement, aligning with MITRE ATT&CK Mitigation M1047 - Audit.