DCIT ZeroTrust Gateway
Eliminate standing admin privileges. Automate ephemeral access.
Your admins don't need standing access to production. Your containers don't need human-pushed images. Zero Trust isn't a whitepaper—it's deployed infrastructure.
Zero Trust Architecture for Federal Networks
The perimeter-based security model that protected federal networks for decades is fundamentally broken. Cloud adoption, remote workforces, and increasingly sophisticated adversaries mean that a firewall and VPN are no longer sufficient to protect sensitive government systems. Executive Order 14028 mandates that agencies adopt Zero Trust architectures—but most agencies struggle to translate policy into deployed infrastructure.
Traditional VPN approaches grant broad network access once a user authenticates, creating lateral movement opportunities that threat actors routinely exploit. ZeroTrust Gateway replaces this model with ephemeral, just-in-time access: bastion hosts are provisioned via Infrastructure-as-Code when needed, scoped to the minimum permissions required, and automatically destroyed when the session ends. No standing access means no standing risk.
At the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and SAIC ReadyOne, we deployed ZeroTrust Gateway to eliminate every persistent admin privilege across container registries and Kubernetes clusters. The result: 100% audit coverage, zero standing privileges, and a security posture that satisfies both OMB Zero Trust mandates and agency-specific compliance requirements without slowing down development teams.
The Difference
Without ZeroTrust Gateway
- Admins with standing access to production environments
- Human-pushed container images to production
- No visibility into who accessed what and when
- Shared service accounts with no accountability
- Manual bastion host management
- Compliance gaps in access control documentation
With ZeroTrust Gateway
- Ephemeral access with just-in-time provisioning
- GitOps-only container promotion with machine-only access
- Complete audit logging and compliance reporting
- Individual identity-based access with full traceability
- IaC-provisioned ephemeral bastion hosts, auto-terminated
- Automated compliance artifacts for ATO packages
Core Features
SSO Integration with Kubernetes
AWS SSO or Azure AD integration with Kubernetes clusters for identity-based access control.
Ephemeral Bastion Hosts
IaC-provisioned bastion hosts that auto-terminate after use—no standing infrastructure to secure.
Container Registry Lockdown
Human push disabled, GitOps-only container promotion with machine-only ACR access.
Role-Based Infrastructure Access
Granular RBAC with no standing admin privileges—access is requested, approved, and time-limited.
Full Audit Logging
Every access event logged and searchable with automated compliance reporting.
Compliance Reporting
Automated generation of access control documentation for ATO and audit packages.
Implementing Zero Trust Access
Access Assessment & Privilege Mapping
We catalog every standing privilege, service account, and access pathway across your environment. This produces a risk-ranked inventory that reveals which systems carry the highest exposure from persistent access.
Identity Provider Integration
We integrate your existing identity provider—AWS SSO, Azure AD, Okta, or another SAML/OIDC system—with Kubernetes clusters and cloud infrastructure. This establishes identity-based access as the single control plane for all privileged operations.
Ephemeral Bastion Deployment
We deploy Infrastructure-as-Code templates that provision bastion hosts on demand, scoped to specific namespaces and time windows. Each bastion auto-terminates after the session, leaving no standing infrastructure to secure or patch.
Policy Automation & GitOps Lockdown
Container registries are locked to machine-only access with GitOps-only image promotion. We configure OPA/Gatekeeper policies and admission controllers to enforce least-privilege across the cluster automatically.
Continuous Monitoring & Compliance Reporting
Every access event flows into centralized audit logging with SIEM integration. Automated compliance reports map access controls directly to NIST 800-53 and agency-specific requirements, keeping your ATO package current in real time.
NRC: Zero Trust Container Governance
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Challenge
Standing admin privileges across container registries and Kubernetes clusters with no audit trail for container image promotions.
Solution
Machine-only ACR access with GitOps-only container promotion, ephemeral bastion hosts, and complete audit logging.
Results
Technology Stack
Identity
Kubernetes
Container Security
Infrastructure
Monitoring
DCIT ZeroTrust Gateway FAQ
No user or service account has permanent admin access to production systems. Access is requested, approved, provisioned for a limited time, and automatically revoked.
When an admin needs access, a bastion host is provisioned via Infrastructure-as-Code, provides time-limited access, and is automatically destroyed after the session ends.
Yes. ZeroTrust Gateway integrates with AWS SSO, Azure AD, Okta, and other SAML/OIDC identity providers.
Initial Zero Trust container governance can be deployed in 4-6 weeks. Full enterprise rollout with ephemeral bastion hosts typically takes 2-3 months.
No. The GitOps-only promotion workflow is actually faster than manual processes. Developers push code, pipelines handle the rest—no manual container pushes needed.
Related
DCIT Velocity Platform
Enterprise CI/CD infrastructure for federal agencies
DCIT Compliance Engine
Automated compliance and ATO acceleration
DCIT DataTrust Framework
Data governance and privacy compliance
NRC DevSecOps Case Study
Zero Trust container governance across 100+ NRC projects
Zero Trust & Compliance as One System
Why Zero Trust and compliance automation belong together
Eliminate Standing Access Today
See how ZeroTrust Gateway replaces persistent VPN access with ephemeral, auditable connections.