5 Zero Trust Identity Mistakes That Are Slowing You Down (And How to Fix Them Now)

Read full article here: https://www.unosecur.com/blog/5-mistakes-that-slow-down-zero-trust-rollouts-and-how-to-fix-them/?source=nhimg

Zero Trust is not a network project — it’s an identity-first security strategy. Yet many organizations stumble after the initial kickoff, falling into the same traps: unclear identity baselines, partial MFA coverage, over-permissioned roles, ignored machine identities, and never-ending pilot programs. These missteps stall progress, inflate risks, and derail Zero Trust transformations.

This guide outlines the five most common mistakes in Zero Trust rollouts and provides actionable fixes for each:

1. Starting with the network, not identities - Projects stall when teams focus on network controls without understanding who has access to what. Fix this by leading with identity discovery and entitlement mapping.

2. Treating MFA as a checkbox - Partial MFA coverage and excessive prompts create security gaps and user frustration. Pair MFA with passwordless strategies and risk-based step-up policies to improve adoption and security.

3. Lifting and shifting roles without least privilege - Static RBAC models copy over-standing privileges. Shift to Just-in-Time (JIT) access with CIEM/IGA workflows to minimize attack surfaces.

4. Neglecting machine identities (NHIs) - Service accounts, API keys, and tokens often escape governance, holding dangerous levels of privilege. Inventory, rotate, and enforce least privilege for all NHIs.

5. Treating Zero Trust as a one-time project - Without continuous monitoring and automated response (ITDR), security postures degrade. Embed automation to detect and respond to drift, privilege escalations, and token misuse in real time.
   

Quick 4-Week Action Plan

• Week 1 - Identity discovery, tag high-risk accounts, baseline MFA.

• Week 2 - Eliminate MFA exemptions, pilot passwordless, disable legacy auth.

• Week 3 -  Implement JIT for admin roles, rotate aged API keys, assign machine identity owners.

• Week 4 - Deploy ITDR automation playbooks, align patch velocity (TPV) with incident MTTR, and track progress on dashboards.

Bottom Line

Zero Trust isn’t a product—it’s an operational mindset. By avoiding these five common pitfalls and adopting a structured remediation approach, you can accelerate your Zero Trust rollout and achieve real, measurable security resilience.