Secure-by-Default Campus Networks: A Five-Step Zero Trust Roadmap for Lean IT Teams

Higher ed IT leaders face a tough combination: rising expectations for seamless connectivity, a growing mix of unmanaged IoT/OT devices, and pressure to reduce outages and support burden—often on lean teams and legacy networks. In this session, Albert Einstein College of Medicine co-presents an educational, decision-maker-friendly roadmap that turns Zero Trust from a principle into a practical plan. We’ll walk through a five-step progression: Visibility, Explicit Verification, Segment of One isolation, Fine-Grained Segmentation, and Universal Zero Trust. This progression translates each step into measurable campus outcomes: fewer trouble tickets, reduced lateral movement risk, and simpler day-2 operations. Using AECOM as a case study, we’ll discuss how a Secure NaaS approach simplified execution by delivering a secure baseline “out of the box,” reducing the integration and operational fragility that often complicates Zero Trust programs. Finally, we’ll preview emerging student-centric patterns—like trust circles for safer collaboration—so leaders can plan beyond today’s requirements. Attendees will take away a better understanding of what it means to be secure by default and will receive access to an upcoming survey report from higher education peers characterizing the State of Network and Security in Higher Education.