Zero Trust Creator & Cybersecurity Expert

John Kindervag

Chief Evangelist

John Kindervag is considered one of the world’s foremost cybersecurity experts. With over 25 years of experience as a practitioner and industry analyst, he is best known for creating the revolutionary Zero Trust Model of Cybersecurity. As Chief Evangelist at Illumio, John Kindervag is responsible for accelerating awareness and adoption of Zero Trust Segmentation. Most recently, John led cybersecurity strategy as a Senior Vice President at On2IT. He previously served as Field CTO at Palo Alto Networks and, before that, spent over eight years as a Vice President and Principal Analyst on the security and risk team at Forrester Research. In 2021, John was named to the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) Zero Trust Sub-Committee and was a primary author of the NSATC Zero Trust report that was delivered to the President. That same year, he was also named CISO Magazine’s Cybersecurity Person of the Year. John serves as an advisor to several organizations, including the Cloud Security Alliance and Venture Capital firm NightDragon.

Authored content

Weekly Briefing

Circle Up: What Reindeer Cyclones Can Teach Us About Zero Trust Security

Learn how the Scandinavian reindeer cyclone offers a powerful new metaphor for Zero Trust — one rooted in strength, coordination, and proactive defense.

Weekly Briefing

We’re Speeding Into an Automated, AI Future — But Who’s at the Wheel?

Get insight into John Kindervag's takeaways from RSAC, including where the industry is headed, what’s holding it back, and why it’s time to rethink how we move forward.

Weekly Briefing

AI Hype, Shiny Objects, and True Innovation: What I’m Watching for at RSAC

John Kindervag unpacks the AI hype at RSAC 2025 and explains why Zero Trust remains the key to real, effective cybersecurity.

Weekly Briefing

Living on the Borderline: How BGP’s Blind Faith Puts Your Data at Risk

Learn why Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is a major internet security flaw and how Zero Trust can help mitigate the risk.

Weekly Briefing

Why I’m Not Losing Sleep Over AI

Learn why AI can’t break the fundamental laws of cybersecurity and how Zero Trust keeps organizations protected in an AI-driven work.

Weekly Briefing

From Boardrooms to Battlefields: Zero Trust Speaks Cybersecurity’s Common Language

Learn why Zero Trust fosters a common language in cybersecurity, aligning strategy across all levels of an organization — from generals and CEOs to technical teams.

Weekly Briefing

14 Years of Zero Trust: A Retrospective on Security’s Biggest Mindset Shift

Learn about the origins of the Zero Trust security model and how it has progressed over the last 14 years.

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