Why CISOs should rethink the roadmap 

Zero trust has become the cornerstone of enterprise security strategy—but for many CISOs, it still feels out of reach. 

In our CISO Perspectives for 2026 survey report, 77% of CISOs said that implementing zero trust will require significant changes—or a complete overhaul—of their current stack. And while that’s a fair concern, the reality is: it doesn’t have to be that hard. 

Too many organizations are operating under the assumption that zero trust means deploying dozens of new tools, re-architecting their networks, and hiring outside consultants to stitch it all together. 

But that assumption is increasingly outdated. 

The real blockers aren’t complexity—they’re legacy expectations 

What’s making zero trust seem “difficult” isn’t the concept—it’s the weight of on-prem infrastructure and solutions built for yesterday’s architecture. 

 Let’s look at the typical objections: 

• “We don’t have the time or resources to reconfigure our entire environment.” 

• “We can’t afford a drawn-out deployment with professional services.” 

• “We have too many vendors already—we can’t add more complexity.” 

These concerns are valid—if you’re using legacy tools designed for a pre-cloud era. 

But modern, cloud-native zero trust solutions are built differently. They don’t require forklifting your network, and they can integrate with your existing security stack.  Better yet, they can start delivering value in days or weeks—not months or years. 

A faster, simpler path to zero trust is here 

CISOs leading the way are shifting from all-or-nothing thinking to focused, high-impact moves that build trust into their environment—without overhauling everything at once. 

Where they’re starting: 

• Passwordless authentication: Forget passwords and overloaded MFA flows. CISOs are adopting certificate-based, phishing-resistant authentication that’s bound to trusted devices—improving both security and user experience. 

• Cloud-native NAC + ZTNA: Instead of racking on-prem appliances and pushing agents, teams are deploying agentless, cloud-delivered NAC and ZTNA to enforce policies based on identity, posture, and risk—across users, devices, and locations. 

• Risk-aware, policy-driven access: Modern platforms let you automate access decisions based on real-time signals—not just static roles or network segments. 

Together, these capabilities deliver on zero trust principles: Verify explicitly. Enforce least privilege. Assume breach.
But they do it without requiring a massive overhaul or multi-year consulting project. 

Why the perception gap still exists 

The myth that zero trust is “too hard” persists because many organizations are still leaning on legacy vendors repackaging old tools under a new label. Those solutions often demand complex integrations, lengthy deployments, and infrastructure-heavy rollouts. 

But if you’re willing to challenge the idea that zero trust has to be complicated, you’ll find there are simpler, faster ways forward. 

At Portnox, we see this every day: organizations implementing passwordless authentication, cloud NAC, and ZTNA in weeks—not months—and reducing both risk and operational load in the process. 

Bottom line 

Yes, achieving zero trust takes effort—but it doesn’t require a rip-and-replace strategy, nor a mountain of infrastructure and service contracts. It requires the right approach, and the right technology. 

Cloud-native, vendor agnostic, and scalable tools can take you there—without slowing you down. 

If your zero trust program feels stuck or overwhelming, the problem might not be the strategy. It might just be the stack.