Introducing Adaptive Access Engine: Real-Time, Dynamic Access Controls for Changing User and Device Context

In the ever-shifting landscape of cybersecurity, users and devices are a moving target. That is, after enterprises securely authenticate users, their context changes rapidly and continuously—they log in from new locations, their devices change status, behavior alters, and enterprises can (and should) apply new threat signals to users and devices as they receive them. The central question: How can enterprises remain confident in authenticated identities over a given span of time, even as context changes?  

Today, secure access decisions are relatively static. But enforcing zero trust everywhere requires that enterprises are able to secure identity dynamically. Enterprises need a more intelligent, dynamic, and responsive way of controlling access to their sensitive resources — ensuring that only the right users gain access and no one else. 

Enter the Zscaler Adaptive Access Engine, an innovative engine designed to put intelligence and continuous evaluation at the heart of access control.

Let’s take a closer look at how this Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange feature reshapes security for enterprises today, enabling adaptive, real-time decision-making and simplified management.

What is Adaptive Access Engine?

Adaptive Access Engine is a feature of the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange that is able to respond to changes in user and device context and make dynamic access decisions in  real time. For that, it continually ingests and analyzes security signals from a host of Zscaler and 3rd-party sources to assess the dynamic posture of users and devices. For enterprises, the process of policy management is dramatically simpler: they can define user risk levels in a unified, centralized location using Zscaler Adaptive Access Profiles. Adaptive Access Engine can allow, block, isolate, or caution access, or trigger Step-Up Authentication—requiring a higher level of biometric or FIDO2-compliant multi-factor authentication (MFA) for sensitive resources. This ensures that only the right users with the right device posture can access sensitive applications and resources—no exceptions.

How it works: Intelligent access, all the time

With the Adaptive Access Engine, organizations gain:

1. Real-time Security Context Analysis
Access decisions rely on context, and Zscaler’s Adaptive Access Engine continuously ingests and analyzes signals from both Zscaler and third-party security tools. These signals work together to update Adaptive Access Profiles, which recalibrate dynamically in real time as user and device context changes.

2. Dynamic Access Enforcement
Adaptive Access Engine dynamically enforces access controls based on a user’s real-time risk profile, the sensitivity of the resource they’re accessing, or both. This adaptive approach enables organizations to protect their data even as threats or user behaviors evolve.

3. Unified Policy Management
With Adaptive Access Engine you craft a single, unified policy that can be applied across the Zscaler platform—one rule set, enforced everywhere. No more duplicating policies in separate products or untangling configuration sprawl.

4. Continuous Access Validation
Gone are the days of one-and-done authentication. Adaptive Access Engine continuously monitors ongoing sessions to account for any shifts in security context. If the risk profile of the user or device changes mid-session, adaptive policies ensure the appropriate response is triggered, whether that’s restricting access, escalating the authentication level, or requiring revalidation.

Step-Up Authentication — a key element of Adaptive Access

Real-time enforcement becomes even more powerful with step-up authentication. Adaptive Access Engine can instantly prompt users to complete higher levels of authentication whenever:

• They attempt to access sensitive resources.
• Their security context (such as location, device security posture, or time of access) becomes risky.

Features of step-up authentication include:

• Centrally defined authentication levels and expiration periods.
• The ability to integrate with external identity providers (IdPs) through OpenID Connect.
• Dynamic policy enforcement based on a user’s current authentication level.

Why Adaptive Access Engine matters

The Adaptive Access Engine is uniquely positioned to address today’s most critical access control challenges:

Continuous, Adaptive Security

• By continually evaluating user and device signals, Adaptive Access Engine adapts to new risks before they can be exploited.

Real-Time Enforcement

• Protect sensitive apps with real-time responses to heightened risks, ensuring access is always dynamic.

Simplified Policy Management

• Administrators can centralize criteria for user profiling and unify integrations with 3rd-party security tools—streamlining deployment and oversight.

Future-Ready Architecture

• Natively interoperable with Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) and Zscaler Private Access (ZPA), Adaptive Access Engine also works seamlessly with top third-party solutions, ensuring tight integration with your existing security stack.

Customer benefits: security, simplicity, and confidence

With the Adaptive Access Engine, you can:

• Extend your existing security investments: Stop letting valuable signals from your EDR, identity providers, and other tools sit in silos. Maximize the value of existing Zscaler products and third-party tools.
• Secure sensitive resources: No unauthorized user or risky device gains access.
• Unify your administration: Simplify the management of dynamic policies and signal histories for deep forensics.
• Stay ahead of threats: Continuously tailor access policies that adapt to shifting risks in real time.

See Adaptive Access in action

As businesses evolve, so do the demands on their security infrastructure. Adaptive Access Engine is more than a feature—it’s a dynamic shift in how enterprises enforce zero trust. By combining the power of continuous evaluation, dynamic enforcement, and simplified policy management, Adaptive Access Engine equips organizations to handle today’s challenges and tomorrow’s unknowns with confidence.

Adaptive Access Engine is now being provisioned on a per-customer basis. Ready to take the next step toward smarter, adaptive access control? Contact Zscaler Support using the Support link in your  Zscaler Admin Portal to request access, and see how this new feature can transform your security posture. 

Note: Adaptive Access Engine is available for customers that have completed the for ZIdentity for End Users migration.