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Microsegmentation

Microsegmentation is a network security technique that divides the data center or cloud environment into small, isolated segments — controlling traffic between workloads at a granular level to prevent lateral movement after a breach.

Zero Trust Network Security Architecture

❓ What is Microsegmentation?

Microsegmentation is a network security technique that divides the data center or cloud environment into small, isolated segments — controlling traffic between workloads at a granular level to prevent lateral movement after a breach.

⚙️ How Does It Work?

Software-defined policies control which workloads can communicate with which other workloads, on which ports and protocols. Even if an attacker compromises one segment, they cannot reach others without explicitly permitted paths.

📍 Where Is It Used?

Data centers, cloud environments, container orchestration platforms (Kubernetes) — core to Zero Trust network architecture.

💡 Real-World Example

Without microsegmentation: ransomware enters via a web server and spreads freely to all backend systems. With microsegmentation: the web server can only communicate with the app tier on port 443 — ransomware is contained to one segment, protecting databases and backups.

🔗 Related Terms

Zero Trust Network Security Least Privilege NIST 800-207
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