Dear fellow cybersecurity investors:

Investment Analysis Clubs Saul’s Investing Discussions
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Dear fellow cybersecuity investors:

Will zero trust become the new normal by replacing replacing VPN’s, firewalls, etc? I lack the background to give an intelligent answer. Some readers of this board, however, are very good at this stuff.

Four key points from a blog by ZS’s CEO are:

  1. Enterprises will eliminate the internet attack surface at last.
  2. 5G will become your local area network.
  3. VPNs and firewalls will finally disappear. (My comment: This sounds bad for ZS’s rival PANW but our source here has an obvious bias.)
  4. Zero trust network access will become the new normal in enterprise security. (My comment: OKTA has also been talking about zero trust a lot lately.)

This link leads to the blog by ZS’s CEO: https://www.zscaler.com/blogs?utm_source=google&utm_medi… It’s dated January 8, 2020.

It’s a bit long but I could read it easily.

My take: I’m still long ZS because I like the way this guy thinks and his great record as a serial entrepreneur. I’m long OKTA for similar reasons. ZS and OKTA seem to be building toward the same thing (zero trust) in different ways. I have no position Saul’s table-pounding favorite CRWD only because I have enough cybersecurity in my portfolio now and feel that cybersecurity remains a hazardous industry in which to invest.

Thank you for giving me a place to just think out loud a bit.

Ross
“Bet the jockey, not the horse,” - Old Racetrack Saying (In some industries, that’s the best I can do.)

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Will zero trust become the new normal by replacing replacing VPN’s, firewalls, etc? I lack the background to give an intelligent answer. Some readers of this board, however, are very good at this stuff.

As a cybersecurity professional, I definitely embrace the zero trust model and believe it is far better than the current model of “defend the perimeter.” As many have stated, it’s difficult to impossible to determine what your security perimeter is anymore. Also, anyone working in security should understand that today it’s not about preventing intrusions, it’s about detecting the adversary once they are inside your network (and it’s safe to assume that they are already in…).

Zero trust is here to stay and companies providing services will be worthwhile investments. But, I wouldn’t short Firewall providers; it’s likely they will continue to sell to and support legacy customers.

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