Implementing Zero Trust: A new paradigm for federal cybersecurity

Cybersecurity defines the safety of national systems, the trust of citizens and the success of federal missions.

The US federal government recognized this in May 2021 with Executive Order 14028: Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity, which mandated a government-wide shift toward stronger protections, including Zero Trust architecture.

The order set the tone for agencies to overhaul their defenses in the face of growing attacks, insider risks and increasingly complex data environments.

Zero Trust provides the framework for that shift. It rejects the outdated idea of implicit trust inside the network perimeter and replaces it with continuous verification of every access request. By applying Zero Trust, agencies can protect sensitive government data while enabling teams to modernize systems and deliver services with greater confidence.

See how Collibra Public Sector helps US federal agencies.

Why Zero Trust matters for government

Federal agencies operate in one of the most challenging security environments in the world with IT estates that span legacy platforms, modern cloud applications and mission-specific systems. They manage citizen data, classified intelligence and critical infrastructure, as well as compliance frameworks such as FISMA, FedRAMP and the OMB Federal Zero Trust Strategy, which places strict requirements on how information must be handled.

The risks are immediate.

Sophisticated adversaries probe constantly for weaknesses, while insider threats add another layer of danger. A breach can compromise millions of records, disrupt essential services or weaken public trust.

Zero Trust closes the gap by enforcing strict identity verification, continuous monitoring and granular access controls that protect data directly rather than relying only on perimeter defense.

Shifting from network-centric protection to data-centric protection — instead of assuming everyone inside the firewall is trustworthy — with Zero Trust, agencies can enforce security at the level of users, devices and data. Identity becomes the new perimeter, with multi-factor authentication and role-based controls required at every point of access. Users are granted only the minimum rights necessary to complete tasks, and those rights are reassessed constantly. And continuous monitoring ensures activity remains within safe bounds, surfacing anomalies in real time.

Underpinning all of this is a unified approach to data governance. While fragmented governance tied to individual platforms creates blind spots, unified governance eliminates them.

When agencies lack visibility into where data resides and confidence in its quality, access policies and monitoring lose their effectiveness. With unified data governance, agencies can solve that challenge by providing context and control across every data source, user and system.

The building blocks of Zero Trust for federal agencies

The reality, however, is Zero Trust can’t just be purchased and switched on. It’s a strategy that must be embedded across the entire IT and data ecosystem.

Agencies can begin by strengthening identity, credential and access management to secure staff, contractors and external partners. Then, they can turn to data classification and tagging, ensuring sensitive information such as PII or CUI is identified and consistently governed across systems. Policy enforcement follows, with automation replacing manual controls so protections travel with the data wherever it resides.

Visibility and observability play a critical role, providing real-time insight into data pipelines and user behavior so anomalies and threats can be detected early.

The final piece is governance integration. The good news is that Pairing Zero Trust with unified governance ensures data is accurate, high-quality and compliant. At Collibra Public Sector, we say this creates Data Confidence™ — the assurance that everyone that touches data across the agency can use it safely and effectively.

Regulatory drivers and mission impact

Executive Order 14028 set the initial mandate for Zero Trust adoption across government.

Building on that, the Office of Management and Budget released the Federal Zero Trust Strategy in 2022, requiring agencies to move toward full Zero Trust implementation by 2027. Goals include strong multi-factor authentication, encryption of all DNS and HTTP traffic and segmentation of networks to minimize the blast radius of any compromise.

At the same time, agencies must meet an expanding set of privacy and AI regulations. And it’s not surprising that generative AI makes governance even more urgent, as poorly governed data can create bias, compliance failures and privacy violations.

So Zero Trust, combined with unified governance, allows agencies to meet these regulatory expectations while accelerating modernization and safe AI adoption.

A summary of how to get started with Zero Trust

The journey toward Zero Trust begins with a clear understanding of the current environment.

First, agencies must map their systems, users and data flows to identify where controls are inconsistent or visibility is lacking. Second, agencies need to prioritize their most critical assets, securing the crown jewels first to reduce the most immediate risks. Identity-first security becomes the foundation of this work, with stronger authentication and authorization protecting every point of entry.

From there, agencies can break down silos by unifying governance, creating consistent visibility and control across the data estate.

Progress comes through iteration — and we recommend starting with small projects, gathering lessons and expanding the approach across the enterprise. The truth is that Zero Trust is not a one-time project but a multi-year journey.

The payoff: Trusted data, resilient missions

Why is Zero Trust such a big opportunity for federal agencies? Because Zero Trust strengthens resilience across every aspect of federal operations.

By rejecting implicit trust and verifying every access attempt, agencies protect critical information, maintain public confidence and support national security.

But Zero Trust benefits more than security. It also empowers innovation. When unified governance ensures data is accurate and trusted, agencies are better able to modernize systems, adopt AI responsibly and give mission teams safe access to the data they need.

In this way, Zero Trust establishes a foundation for agencies to move faster and do more with data, confident that every action and decision is safeguarded.

Take the next step

Is your agency ready to meet the Zero Trust mandate?

Collibra helps federal organizations unify data governance, automate visibility and enforce policies across every system and use case.

Learn how to accelerate modernization and secure sensitive data with confidence.

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