The Open Group Zero Trust Reference Model

For people to work together, everyone needs a shared understanding of what they are building, operating, and assessing. This isn’t a full set of technical details (that comes later), but a simple diagram and plain language that gives everyone a clear picture of where they are headed is required—that is, a clear picture of Zero Trust. This common point of reference is often called a reference model by technologists and technical leaders.

The following diagram is from the Zero Trust Reference Model from The Open Group. This model provides a consistent view of the definition that will be used throughout the playbooks. In this chapter, we will quickly summarize each part of the Zero Trust Reference Model and define what all the words mean so that we all have a consistent understanding:

Figure 4.1 – The Open Group Zero Trust diagram

We will revisit this model many times throughout the playbooks...