- ColorTokens Federal CTO Louis Eichenbaum has highlighted microsegmentation as a zero trust priority for agencies
- Eichenbaum flags internal traffic visibility as a commonly missed security gap
- ColorTokens’ AI-based platform builds microsegments to block lateral movement across networks
Louis Eichenbaum, federal chief technology officer at ColorTokens, said government agencies should integrate microsegmentation into their zero trust strategies to protect critical assets from cyberthreat actors and achieve operational resilience.
In an article published on Carahsoft.com, Eichenbaum wrote that agencies historically relied on large networks defended mainly by perimeter security. He noted that adversaries eventually found ways to bypass those defenses and reach critical systems.
What Zero Trust Tenet Are Agencies Overlooking?
Eichenbaum said many agencies have made progress on foundational zero trust capabilities, such as phishing-resistant multifactor authentication and endpoint detection and response tools.
“But many agencies are overlooking a key tenet of zero trust: internal visibility into and ultimately control over all the traffic inside a network,” he wrote.
Once an agency understands how its applications, devices and workflows interact, it can create microsegments that govern when and how those resources connect, Eichenbaum explained. He added that this approach makes it harder for an adversary to bypass security controls and move laterally within a network.
What Are the Two Steps to Apply Zero Trust?
Eichenbaum recalled that his own zero trust experience began while he served as deputy chief information security officer at the Department of the Interior, during recovery efforts following the Office of Personnel Management breach. He noted that the breach exposed personal data belonging to millions of Americans.
According to Eichenbaum, DOI’s chief information officer introduced zero trust concepts during that time, and the agency quickly adopted the methodology. He said the first step was adopting phishing-resistant multifactor authentication, followed by a second step to deploy a microsegmentation strategy.
Eichenbaum explained that with microsegmentation, a threat actor who compromised a device or an endpoint could not move laterally to reach a high-value asset.
How Does ColorTokens’ AI-Based Platform Support Agencies?
Eichenbaum stated that ColorTokens built an artificial intelligence-based platform that gathers and cross-references data across an agency’s IT environment. He said the platform forms microsegments that permit only the connections required for secure, efficient operations.
“The platform verifies and validates every connection and monitors traffic on an ongoing basis to prevent malicious actors from moving through a network,” he wrote.
Eichenbaum noted that ColorTokens maintains an open platform that works with tools from other major vendors and feeds data into the dashboards agencies use to manage their networks.
