How the Zero Trust Maturity Evaluator Works

A structured, self-guided assessment aligned with NIST SP 800-207 and the CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model v2.0. Complete all 8 pillars in about 10 minutes and walk away with a clear picture of your current posture and what to prioritize next.

NIST SP 800-207CISA ZTMM v2.0DoD ZTA v2.08 Pillars25 QuestionsFree & Private

How the Assessment Works

01

Answer 25 targeted questions

Work through 8 pillars at your own pace. Each question has 3 options mapped to maturity levels 1, 2, and 3. You can go back and change answers at any time.

02

Get your maturity scores

Each pillar is scored as the average of its questions, then mapped to a maturity level. Your overall score is the average across all pillars with at least one answer.

03

Review prioritized recommendations

For every pillar below Level 3, you receive specific, actionable guidance. Recommendations are written at the CISO level — strategic enough for board reporting, specific enough for implementation.

04

Export, print, and track progress

Download a CSV of all pillar scores and recommendations. Print a formatted report. Save the assessment with a name and date, then re-run quarterly to track improvement over time.

How Scoring Works

Each answer maps to a numeric value — Level 1, 2, or 3. A pillar score is the average of its questions' values. The overall score is the average of all pillar scores. Scores are then mapped to a maturity level:

Level 1Traditional / Initial(score 1.0 – 1.4)

Primarily perimeter-based security with limited Zero Trust controls. Significant exposure to lateral movement, identity-based attacks, and supply chain risk. Most organizations start here.

Level 2Advanced(score 1.5 – 2.4)

Partial Zero Trust implementation with enhanced context-aware access controls. Most critical systems are protected, but gaps remain in automation, governance, and supply chain visibility.

Level 3Optimal(score 2.5 – 3.0)

Comprehensive Zero Trust with continuous verification, least-privilege enforcement, dynamic policy, AI-driven threat detection, and formal governance across all 8 pillars.

The 8 Zero Trust Pillars

The assessment covers all 5 core pillars from the CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model v2.0 plus three cross-cutting capabilities — Automation & Orchestration, Visibility & Analytics, and Governance — giving you a complete picture of your Zero Trust program.

Identity

4 questions

MFA, phishing-resistant auth (FIDO2/passkeys), privileged access management (PAM/JIT), non-human identity, and identity lifecycle governance (IGA/JML).

Devices

3 questions

Endpoint posture and EDR, BYOD and unmanaged device controls, hardware trust (TPM/Secure Boot), and OT/IoT device security.

Network

4 questions

Micro-segmentation, ZTNA, mTLS east-west encryption, SASE, dynamic least-privilege access, and email/collaboration security (DMARC, BEC).

Applications & Workloads

4 questions

DevSecOps and CI/CD security (SAST/DAST/RASP), API security, software supply chain (SBOM/SCA), cloud and container security (CSPM, K8s, IaC).

Data

2 questions

Data discovery and classification, DLP, encryption at rest and in transit, attribute-based access control (ABAC), and data lineage tracking.

Automation & Orchestration

3 questions

SOAR, policy-as-code, AI-assisted incident response, resilience and recovery (immutable backups, purple team validation).

Visibility & Analytics

3 questions

XDR/SIEM/UEBA, unified telemetry, AI/ML risk scoring, threat intelligence, and AI/LLM security controls.

Governance

2 questions

Zero Trust program ownership, executive sponsorship, board-level risk reporting, compliance-as-code, and continuous third-party audit validation.

Your Privacy

All assessment data is processed entirely in your browser — nothing is sent to any server.
Saved assessments are stored in your browser's localStorage and never leave your device.
No account, email, or personal information is required.
Clearing your browser data will remove any saved assessments.
Anonymous usage analytics (Google Analytics) measure overall site traffic only — no assessment answers are tracked.

Framework Alignment

Ready to evaluate your Zero Trust posture?

Takes about 10 minutes. No account required. Results stay on your device.

Start the Assessment