Zero Trust Without IAM Is Just Network Segmentation

Many Zero Trust initiatives stop at micro-segmentation. That is necessary—but insufficient. Zero Trust is not about where traffic comes from. It is about who or what is acting, and whether that action is authorized now. True Zero Trust requires strong identity assurance, fine-grained authorization, and continuous verification. Networks become transport layers, not trust anchors. In OT and energy systems, identity-centric enforcement enables isolation without disrupting operations—a prerequisite for resilience. No IAM → No Zero Trust. Everything else is theater.