Zero Trust for Users Masterclass: The Playbook for M&A Day-1 Secure Access

dsd

 

 

 

 

 

Overview

The image is a screenshot from a presentation titled "Zero Trust for Users Masterclass: The Playbook for M&A Day-1 Secure Access," presented by Zscaler (featuring speaker Corey Burks).

It outlines "The Zscaler M&A Playbook," a step-by-step timeline strategy for integrating systems, applications, and security controls during a Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) process to achieve secure access by Day 1.

Timeline Breakdown

1. Pre-planning Phase (Yellow)

   • Focus: Governance, due diligence, and foundational setup.

   • Key Tasks: IT due diligence, obtaining legal approval, establishing points of contact, and assessing legal and compliance implications.

2. 30 Days Prior to Close (Light Blue)

   • Focus: Asset identification and placement planning.

   • Key Tasks: Identifying critical applications ("crown jewels") and planning placement locations for Zscaler App Connectors.

3. 21 Days Prior to Close (Medium Blue)

   • Focus: Automated infrastructure deployment.

   • Key Tasks: Deploying App Connectors using Terraform within the target environment (noted here as the Red Canary environment).

4. 15 Days Prior to Close (Dark Blue)

   • Focus: Validation and testing.

   • Key Tasks: Testing Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) and Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) configurations in an isolated test environment to verify functionality without risking production.

5. 7 Days Prior to Close (Magenta)

   • Focus: Identity and access control policy mapping.

   • Key Tasks: Defining Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) policies across all new ZPA traffic flows to enforce least-privilege principles.

6. Day-1 and Beyond (Green)

   • Focus: Execution and operationalization.

   • Key Tasks: Go Live — Enabling secure zero-trust user access on Day 1 without needing complex network convergence, VPN bridging, or routing overhauls.