Gray Media Harnesses Zero Trust to Unify Security and Connectivity for M&As and 120 Broadcasting Locations

Modernizing with zero trust to streamline M&A integration and build a robust security posture

Gray Media (formerly Gray TV) is a leading TV broadcaster in the US, operating in 113 markets across 39 states. It is committed to providing communities with quality news, sports, and weather content delivered by local media professionals. The news-focused operation has a distributed workforce of more than 10,000, including field staff, who work across 120 locations. 

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are at the core of Gray Media’s growth strategy. The company recently broadened its business into production services, sports network streaming, investigative journalism, and Spanish-language content offered by Telemundo TV. During his 25-year tenure at Gray Media, VP and CISO Brian Morris tackled the many challenges that come with integrating acquisitions, each with their own unique devices, data, and network setups. As he attests, it became increasingly difficult to manage and secure this complex, fragmented environment. In an industry where timeliness and uninterrupted service is of the utmost importance, legacy security solutions could disrupt operations.

To remediate this, Morris launched a modernization effort to streamline the network and strengthen security. When he learned about Zscaler from an acquired company, he decided to conduct a proof of value (POV). 

“We needed a solution that provides consistent security while respecting the needs of each location and giving employees the freedom to do their jobs without excessive restrictions. At first, embracing a cloud native solution was met with skepticism, but, as we worked through the POV, we found that Zscaler exceeded our expectations and completely reshaped our network and security landscape,” said Morris.

Phase 1: Secure, direct access to critical resources empowers broadcast teams to deliver up-to-the-minute content

Gray Media’s first step in its modernization journey was to deploy Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) to provide its entire hybrid workforce with secure, direct access to the internet and SaaS apps anywhere and on any device. This is especially critical for reporters who need to access content from affiliates and other sources 24/7/365 with their smartphones, notebooks, or laptops. 

“Gray Media is committed to giving our viewers up-to-the-minute information. ZIA provides us with high-performance, reliable, and secure connectivity so that our reporters can stay on top of breaking news,” said Morris.

ZIA’s URL filtering, full TLS/SSL traffic inspection, and AI-powered advanced threat protection allay concerns about browser vulnerabilities and web-borne threats like DNS hijacking. With ZIA, Gray now has a full proxy solution that can be managed enterprise-wide for all users and locations.

Gray Media also eliminated high-latency, risky VPNs, transitioning to Zscaler Private Access (ZPA). Previously, mobile and on-site employees working at local stations would be required to enable and disable as many as half a dozen VPN clients daily, depending on the locations requiring access. “ZPA now gives our remote employees reliable, direct access to the resources they need to do their jobs without cumbersome, poorly secured connections,” said Morris.

Morris deployed Zscaler Digital Experience (ZDX) to leverage AI-powered insights that rapidly identify and resolve end-user performance issues across devices, networks, and apps. By pinpointing disruptions in minutes, ZDX enables IT to proactively ensure uninterrupted access to critical resources for its distributed workforce. This allows reporters and staff to remain productive while delivering breaking news and content, optimizing the user experience and operational efficiency at scale.

“When I first embarked on this modernization process with Zscaler, I thought, ‘Boy, I hope this works.’ We found out that it actually does work—and so much better than our legacy appliances,” said Morris.

Phase 2: Modernizing and simplifying branch connectivity

Following a series of rapid acquisitions, Gray Media found itself managing a patchwork of legacy and modern WAN architectures that increased security risks and administrative burdens. To support its aggressive growth strategy, Morris recognized the need to modernize and standardize network security—without slowing down business momentum.

“With every acquisition, we inherited another siloed WAN, multiplying complexity and making it increasingly difficult to maintain consistent security everywhere,” said Morris. “The fragmentation was unsustainable as we scaled.”

Gray Media chose Zscaler Zero Trust Branch to transform its networking model. By enabling secure, direct-to-cloud connectivity and identity-driven access, Zscaler streamlined administration, eliminated unnecessary backhauling, and enforced consistent security policies organization-wide—all managed from a unified cloud dashboard.

“The biggest advantage of migrating to Zero Trust Branch is that we did not have to rip and replace our networks and start all over again. One of our acquisitions told us they planned to roll out SDN and SD-WAN. We told them, ‘There’s no need to spend all that money. We can integrate with ZPA and Zero Trust Branch.’ This helped save expense and effort.”

Looking ahead, Gray Media plans to implement policy-based device segmentation across branches to protect critical broadcast and IT systems. Zero Trust Branch will ensure each device receives only the access it needs, maximizing uptime and safeguarding both on-air and business operation.

Phase 3: Accurate, real-time risk assessment to validate compliance and the impact of cybersecurity initiatives

As a publicly held company and critical infrastructure, Gray Media adheres to the NIST, MITRE, and CIS security frameworks to meet SEC, FCC, and CIS compliance requirements. Morris points out that compliance validation can be challenging, as opinions about what constitutes adherence to these frameworks vary widely. To alleviate this problem, he and his team leverage Zsacler’s cyber risk quantification solutions to quantify, visualize, and report their risk posture. 

Zscaler Risk360 processes data from Gray Media’s environment as well as Zscaler ThreatLabz and third-party sources to provide an accurate, real-time, data-driven risk score for assets, apps, and users. Morris uses the out-of-the-box CISO board reports to summarize cyber risk for executives, show them how controls map to compliance requirements, and provide financial impact assessments.

“As I've told our legal team and audit committee, we don’t necessarily have to change our approach to cybersecurity, we just have to prove we're meeting requirements—and that’s where Zscaler Risk360 comes in,” he remarked. “Risk360’s real-time telemetry provides a continually validated and updated flow of information that I can present to my board with confidence. It proves to them that we are doing the right things.”

Morris also appreciates the ability to get granular insights into specific security functions that need immediate attention. By delegating these small remediation tasks to his team, he can proactively resolve issues and drive ongoing improvement to Gray Media’s risk score. 

“We’ve already seen an 80% reduction in risk since deploying Zscaler,” he pointed out. “By implementing consistent security policies across all platforms, minimizing the attack surface, and preventing lateral movement, we have vastly improved our risk profile. We’re now more confident in our ability to protect our data and comply with regulatory requirements.”

Delivering a great experience for broadcasting and administrative teams

Despite initial hesitation on the part of business leadership about adopting a cloud-based zero trust platform, Morris can attest that Zscaler’s business value became apparent almost immediately. One of the best yardsticks of success, he asserted, is user response: “When our employees are cruising along and don’t notice a difference, then we can sit back say ‘Yes, Zscaler is working the way it should.’”

Uniform policy enforcement, comprehensive visibility, and granular control simplify operations by eliminating the fragmented approach to managing security across the company’s 120 locations. This allows his team to focus more on strategic initiatives.

Addressing media-specific M&A complexities with zero trust

Gray Media’s M&As have presented unique challenges due to the diverse technology environments of acquired companies. Acquisitions have ranged from one- and two-station operations to larger groups dependent on extensive WANs. Network equipment and design vary greatly—from industry standard to consumer-grade. 

The FCC's rigorous scrutiny of acquisitions by public companies has added more constraints on already stringent integration timelines, so approvals often occur at the last minute. This leaves Gray Media with a narrow window of time for finalizing contracts and financial transactions and often means delays in technology integration.

Streamlined M&A processes have allowed Gray Media to integrate new acquisitions quickly and securely with ZPA and Zscaler Zero Trust Branch. Future acquisitions can integrate smoothly without the need to purchase expensive, high-maintenance legacy solutions, thereby reducing one-time integration costs. Morris noted that this has significantly improved business agility and scalability.

“Zscaler eliminates all the heavy lifting associated with physical network integration and deploying new network equipment for M&As. Since everything is in the cloud and managed centrally, we no longer need to manually configure every new location,” said Morris. “We can connect users and devices from new companies to important apps and resources in a matter of days rather than months, without complex hardware installations or upgrades. Zscaler’s flexibility fully supports our business expansion strategy while substantially reducing labor hours for integration.”

Zero trust advances business goals with zero friction

Creating an information security department without disrupting the daily flow of business is one of Morris’s biggest points of professional pride—and implementing Zscaler zero trust has played a major role in his success.

“Gray Media’s zero trust journey shows what you can do when you get everyone involved and when you have the right partner with the right technology. As we worked together toward a common vision, we discovered that we did not have to rebuild the world in order to roll out zero trust—no network or workflow redesigns were necessary. Zscaler allowed us to build and add on without starting over, and I am supremely grateful for that,” said Morris. 

Zscaler continues to be instrumental to advancing Gray Media’s mission of distributing tailored content and ensuring that each of the communities it serves stays informed and involved, all day and every day.