"Hackers are already using advanced technologies based on artificial intelligence (AI) to attack corporations and institutions. This is why the Zero Trust security principle is gaining attention."
Sanjay Yadave, Vice President of Zscaler Asia-Pacific, said in a recent interview with ChosunBiz, "As AI-driven cyberattacks are rapidly increasing worldwide, governments and corporations in major countries are recognizing the importance of Zero Trust and expanding its adoption." Zero Trust is based on the principle of 'never trust, always verify.' Unlike traditional security models that assume internal networks can be trusted while external ones are viewed with suspicion, Zero Trust requires continuous verification of all users and devices, both inside and outside the network.
As cyber attacks become increasingly sophisticated, and as remote work and cloud environments spread, the risk of hacking exposure for both corporations and institutions is growing, leading to the rise of Zero Trust as a core security strategy. In major developed countries, including the United States, Zero Trust is regarded as a necessity rather than a choice. In Korea, the necessity of Zero Trust has been highlighted as corporations such as SK Telecom, YES24, and SGI Seoul Guarantee have been targeted by hacking attacks this year. Among domestic corporations, LG Uplus has announced plans to invest 700 billion won over the next five years to establish an AI-based security system and complete the company-wide Zero Trust implementation by 2027.
Zscaler, headquartered in San Jose, California, is a cloud security company specializing in Zero Trust, founded in 2007 by Indian-American entrepreneur Jay Chaudhry. The company was listed on Nasdaq in 2018.
Zscaler now serves around 8,000 corporate customers, representing roughly 45% of the Fortune 500, and entered the Korean market in 2014. To date, it has built a base of more than 100 customers, including major domestic corporations. Notably, since last year, domestic manufacturers have faced a surge in cyber threats such as malware and ransomware, driving stronger demand for Zero Trust solutions.
Yadave stated, "Attackers are utilizing AI at every stage of the kill chain, which refers to all phases from the initial to the final stage of a cyberattack," adding that Zscaler is responding by launching an AI-based security solution called 'Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange' to protect corporate data. The Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange is characterized by the fact that it can be used without traditional security technologies such as firewalls or virtual private networks (VPNs).
The company explained that incorporating AI into Zero Trust enhances corporations' data protection capabilities, simplifies security systems, and helps reduce threat investigation times to one-tenth, thereby lowering expenses. Siemens in Germany reduced its security-related costs by 70% after implementing Zscaler's solution, and S&P Global in the United States significantly shortened its security procedures to enhance efficiency.
Yadave mentioned, "AI has evolved from predictive AI to generative AI, and now to agentic AI. Zscaler has been using predictive AI to identify zero-day vulnerabilities." He further elaborated, "Zscaler operates over 160 data centers globally, with security solution users averaging more than 60 million daily, processing approximately 500 billion pieces of information—nearly 20 times the volume of daily Google searches." He added, "Analyzing such vast amounts of data with AI greatly helps in identifying potential intrusions or threats."
Furthermore, Zscaler is integrating AI into its security platform for integrated vulnerability management, attack surface management, deception, and honeypot features to enhance Zero Trust capabilities. This allows for better responses to a wider range of security threats and helps corporations reduce expenses, Yadave explained.
In particular, in the era of inference-capable 'AI agents,' Zscaler is working with companies like Microsoft to establish criteria for what information access to allow between agents and what information can be exchanged. Yadave described it as a process of assigning a sort of ID to AI agents, defining which agent can access what data and which agents can communicate with each other to prevent data leaks.
He predicted that as the adoption of AI agents among corporations and the utilization of public cloud platforms increase, the demand for AI-based Zero Trust solutions will also grow. Yadave noted, "Many companies are using public AI platforms or their own AI apps and are concerned about the exposure of confidential company information or source codes to external platforms," adding, "Zscaler classifies what information can be uploaded to public platforms with its AI-based security solutions to alleviate these security concerns."
According to Yadave, for the Zscaler fiscal year ending in July, the annual recurring revenue (ARR)—revenue earned from customers subscribed to the solution—was $2.6 billion (approximately 3.5859 trillion won), and next year's ARR is projected to grow by 11.5% to $2.9 billion. The U.S. market accounts for half of the total business, while the rest comes from other global markets. Yadave stated, "The goal is to double the ARR to $5 billion within five years."
Zscaler is also pursuing mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to enhance its AI security capabilities. Last year, it acquired the AI-based security data analytics company 'Avalor,' and this year acquired the managed detection and response (MDR) company 'Red Canary' for $675 million (approximately 900 billion won). The security industry is experiencing a wave of M&A as companies like Zscaler. Palo Alto Networks, the world's largest security company, acquired CyberArk for $25 billion (approximately 34.5 trillion won), and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, purchased cloud security company Wiz for $32 billion (approximately 45 trillion won) in response to the AI era.
The company also explained that it has secured a diverse range of clients in sectors from manufacturing to distribution and gaming in the Korean market. Lee Hunju, head of Zscaler Korea, stated, "Korean sales are expected to grow to three times the current scale within three years."