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SP 800-207Final2020

Zero Trust Architecture

At a glanceDefines zero trust: no user or device is trusted just because it is on the district network, and every access request is checked. It describes the components and deployment options. Useful as a direction for long-term network and identity planning rather than a product purchase.

Reading level
Technical
Length
59 pages · about 45 min for the key parts
Best for
Technology directors, IT staff and service partners
CSF 2.0
Protect
Read it on NIST DOI 10.6028/NIST.SP.800-207 ↗

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Key concepts

Zero trust moves protection from the network perimeter to individual resources. The publication gives tenets, an abstract architecture (policy engine, policy administrator, enforcement points), deployment variations, use cases, threats and migration advice. NIST's practice guide SP 1800-35 (2025) shows example implementations.

How it is organized

  • Zero trust basics and tenets
  • Logical components and deployment variations
  • Deployment scenarios and use cases
  • Threats associated with zero trust
  • Interaction with existing federal guidance
  • Migrating to a zero trust architecture

What a school district should take from it

  • Most of the first steps are things districts already need: strong identity, MFA, device management and segmentation.
  • Zero trust is a multi-year direction, not a single product.

How to use it in your district

  1. Start with identity: single sign-on with MFA for staff applications.
  2. Segment the network so student, staff, building systems and guest traffic are separate.
  3. Require managed, up-to-date devices for access to sensitive systems.
  4. Ask vendors how their products support the tenets, rather than whether they are 'zero trust'.

Common misconceptions

Zero trust means you can buy a zero trust product.
It is an architecture and a set of principles that many tools can support.

Rubric categories and K12 Cyber Forward tools

Cybersecurity Rubric 2.0 categories

  • PR.AAIdentity Management, Authentication, and Access Control
  • PR.IRTechnology Infrastructure Resilience

Tools in the program portal

Related publications

Citation and source

SP 800-207, Zero Trust Architecture. National Institute of Standards and Technology. 2020. https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-207.

Topics: Network security, Identity, passwords and MFA. This summary was written by the K12 Cyber Forward program team in its own words. NIST is not affiliated with the program and has not reviewed it. The official publication on csrc.nist.gov controls.