How can you navigate in the jungle of Zero Trust buzzwords without reading to much product marketing?

Follow the "real" Zero Trust leaders and learn from them how to understand and implement Zero Trust.

And if you need a "map" to navigate your Zero Trust Journey, feel free to check out the Podcasts below.

‍

John Kindervag — The Godfather of Zero Trust

Creator of the Zero Trust model while at Forrester Research

‍

Major Accomplishments:

- Created and defined the foundational Zero Trust framework

- Member of the U.S. President’s NSTAC Zero Trust sub-committee

- Chief Evangelist at Illumio, driving Zero Trust awareness

‍

Sources-Examples:

‍https://www.illumio.com/blog/john-kindervag-shares-zero-trusts-origin-story

https://www.wwt.com/blog/a-ctos-interview-with-the-godfather-of-zero-trust

https://www.illumio.com/blog/john-kindervag-on-what-security-leaders-are-still-missing-about-zero-trust

‍

Podcasts & Co:

Zero Trust, Terrain, and Holding the High Ground (to find your map)

‍https://www.illumio.com/podcast/zero-trust-mapped-and-matured

‍https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/16947/649704

No Trust Podcast: Origins, Evolution, and the Realities of Zero Trust — with John Kindervag & Dr. Zero Trust ‍

No Trust Podcast: A Conversation with the Godfather of Zero Trust — John Kindervag (with Jaye Tillson and John Spiegel)

‍

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-kindervag-40572b1/

‍

Community:

https://zerotrustforum.net/

‍

‍

‍

‍

Dr. Chase Cunningham — aka ‘Dr. Zero Trust’

Former Forrester analyst and cybersecurity expert with decades of operational experience in NSA,
US Navy, FBI Cyber, and other government mission groups.

‍

Major Accomplishments:

- Continued the Forrester Research on Zero Trust (The Zero Trust eXtended ZTX)

- Author and host of the “Dr. Zero Trust” podcast series

- Frequent keynote speaker and podcast guest

‍

Sources-Examples:

https://www.illumio.com/podcast/practicing-zero-trust-and-adopting-assume-breach

Lessons learned from 2025 (spotify):

https://open.spotify.com/episode/62cJysCAWSHtMVOz64I8Sf

‍

Books:

(check out https://www.drzerotrust.com/#books for all):

- "gAbrIel" - A Novel in the gAbrIel Series (2021)

- "How NOT to Lead" (2024)

- "BuytheBreach" (2025)

- "Think like an Attacker" (2025)

- "vARIable" - The Latest Installment In The gAbrIel Series (2025)

- "THE NO BULLSH*T MARKETING GUIDE FOR ZERO TRUST" (2025)

‍

Podcasts and "the Zero Trust Workshop" in Zurich:

https://www.illumio.com/podcast/zero-trust-mapped-and-matured

No Trust Podcast: Origins, Evolution, and the Realities of Zero Trust — with John Kindervag & Dr. Zero Trust

From the Battlefield to the Boardroom

‍Zero Trust Implementation Workshop on Dec, 1, 2025

‍

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-chase-cunningham/

‍

Website and Community:

https://www.drzerotrust.com/

https://www.patreon.com/drzerotrust

‍https://zerotrustforum.net/

‍

‍

‍

George Finney — Bestselling Author, CISO, Educator

Award-winning author, cybersecurity leader, and storytelling evangelist

‍

Major Accomplishments:

- “Project Zero Trust: A Story about a Strategy for Aligning Security and the Business” (with foreword by John Kindervag)

- CISO@ Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex

- Frequent keynote speaker and podcast guest

‍

Sources-Examples:

‍https://wellawaresecurity.com/

https://www.illumio.com/podcast/unpacking-zero-trust-in-higher-education

‍

Books:

- "Well Aware" (2020)

- "Project Zero Trust” (2023)

- “No More Magic Wands" (2016)

- "Rise of the Machines" (2025)

‍

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgefinney/

‍

‍

‍

Jaye Tillson — Technologist, Evangelist and Strategist

Cybersecurity leader, podcaster and keynote speaker

‍

Major Accomplishments:

- Co-Founder of Zero Trust Forum

- Technologist and CTO Security @ HPE

- Frequent keynote speaker and well-known Zero Trust podcaster

‍

Sources-Examples:

- https://zerotrustforum.net/

‍- No Trust Podcast: Zero Trust Myths, Wins, and the Road Ahead

- 2025-year-everything-came-together

‍

‍

Book:

- pssst! - coming up soon

‍

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaye-tillson/

‍

‍

There are some further great Zero Trust voices to follow on LinkedIn:

- Jason Garbis‍

- Jerry Chapman

- Christopher Steffen

- Paul Simmonds

- John Spiegel

- Erik Johnson

- Peter HJ van Eijk

- Moshe Ferber

- Jennifer Minella

‍

What are your thoughts on Zero Trust and a the current state of cybersecurity resilience in your organization?

‍

‍

‍

‍