Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation (250–350 words)
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The EC-Council CCISO program aligns zero trust architecture with the principle of “never trust, always verify.” CCISO documentation emphasizes that zero trust is identity-centric, not perimeter-centric, making multi-factor authentication (MFA), identity and access management (IAM), and endpoint security the most critical enabling technologies.
MFA ensures that access decisions are not based on a single factor such as a password. IAM enforces least privilege, continuous authentication, and access policy enforcement. Endpoint security validates device posture, health, and trustworthiness before granting access. Together, these controls enable continuous verification of users, devices, and sessions, which is the foundation of zero trust.
Firewalls, IPS, WAFs, SIEM, and DLP (Options C and D) are important supporting controls but do not define zero trust. CCISO materials explicitly state that zero trust shifts security decisions away from network location and toward identity, context, and device trust.
Therefore, Option A is correct.