F-Response in a Zero Trust World

Sep 22, 2026

We get emails and phone calls asking about how F-Response works in a Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA), and while we do our best to make it clear on our website, it often still requires a little one-on-one to explain all the details.

The short answer? F-Response Collect and Universal are both fully capable of handling most ZTA environments.

The long answer? Well, it helps to understand what ZTA is and what it means for your network.

Wikipedia defines Zero Trust Architecture as follows:

"Zero trust architecture (ZTA) is a design and implementation strategy of IT systems. The principle is that users and devices should not be trusted by default, even if they are connected to a privileged network such as a corporate LAN and even if they were previously verified. The principle is also known as perimeterless security or formerly de-perimeterization." -Wikipedia on Zero Trust Architecture

Now, there's a lot to unpack there, but the key piece when it comes to F-Response is the lack of a perimeter. Traditional VPN access would give a connected device access to the network, and it would make that device accessible (additional network controls aside). This means that in a traditional VPN situation the examiner can leverage F-Response (Consultant/Consultant+Covert/Enterprise) to access one or more VPN-connected subjects.

This model worked for a very long time.

At least right up until people started moving to a perimeterless/ZTA. In these new VPN configurations, the machines connecting to the VPN cannot be accessed directly as they are not "fully" part of the network. This poses a problem for traditional F-Response products because they depend on being able to access the remote machine directly.

This is not the case for F-Response Universal and Collect. Both of those products use a central server(s) architecture that expect clients to connect to them. This means all VPN-connected systems make outbound requests to either Collect or Universal. This deviation from classic versions of F-Response means both of those products will work perfectly fine in a ZTA.

Not entirely certain you are following? Want to try it out for yourself?

Sure thing. We believe strongly in making sure the software is going to work for you before you put money on the line. Reach out and talk to us, we'd love to discuss remote cyber forensics, zero trust architecture, and how we can solve the challenges you're facing.

Thanks!

Warmest Regards,

Matt