Defense in Depth: A Fortune 500 Contractor Deploys Zero-Trust Physical Security
- Soloinsight Inc.
- Jun 30, 2022
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 16
Introduction: In Modern Defense, Trust is Not a Strategy—Verification Is
In today’s volatile landscape of cyber-physical threats, the most dangerous assumption in security is trust. While firewalls protect the digital perimeters and armed guards stand watch over the physical, it's the gray area in between—the people, the doors, the credentials—that often goes unguarded.
For a Fortune 500 defense contractor tasked with protecting both top-secret projects and sensitive manufacturing operations, conventional access control simply wasn't enough. Trusting an ID badge? Not enough. Trusting an internal staff roster? Still not enough. The new imperative: never trust—always verify.
Enter Zero Trust Physical Security, powered by Soloinsight’s CloudGate PIAM platform. This is not just a shift in tooling; it's a shift in mindset. It’s about transforming every gate, every badge, every identity into a continuously validated access event—intelligent, auditable, and mission-aligned.
The Problem with “Trusted Personnel”
Even the most well-vetted staff can pose risks under the wrong conditions. Human error, coercion, or shifting roles can quickly turn a trusted credential into a threat vector.
Legacy systems fail to address this because they:
Grant static access that doesn't adjust to real-time role changes
Lack real-time visibility into who is in secure zones and why
Cannot distinguish between credential misuse and legitimate access
Rely on manual deactivation workflows, prone to delays
A large defense integrator discovered these vulnerabilities the hard way. After an internal audit revealed over 150 active badges still issued to former vendors, leadership realized they needed to overhaul access with a Zero Trust foundation.
That journey began with CloudGate.
Zero Trust Physical Security, Layer by Layer: The CloudGate PIAM Blueprint
CloudGate’s PIAM solution isn’t built to replace trust—it’s built to eliminate the need for it. Instead of assuming any identity is safe once inside, the platform verifies every access request in real-time, across every perimeter, at every level.
Key components of this layered model include:
Dynamic Role Assignments: Access changes as job functions shift.
Time-Restricted Access: No entry outside scheduled windows—even for cleared personnel.
Geo-Fencing: Credentials are only valid in specific zones, on specific sites.
Contextual Alerts: Late-night access, repeated failed entries, or cross-zone anomalies trigger automatic interventions.
Multi-Factor Identity Assurance: Combining mobile wallet credentials and biometric validation for high-risk areas.
This “defense in depth” approach mimics the strategic fortification models of battlefield architecture—every layer, a new challenge; every checkpoint, a new verification.
Real-World Deployment: From Theory to Tactical Control
In one of the contractor’s high-security R&D facilities, CloudGate was deployed across three security zones:
Perimeter Gate (Contractor check-in and vehicle access)
Engineering Labs (Prototyping, simulation, and cyber testing zones)
Vaulted War Room (Black projects and top-clearance briefings)
Each zone had escalating security layers:
Zone 1 used mobile wallet credentials
Zone 2 layered in TRA Face ID biometric scans
Zone 3 added a dual-control facial scan, requiring two authorized individuals to authenticate simultaneously
This graduated approach meant that even if a badge was lost or a biometric scan was somehow spoofed (a near-impossibility with CloudGate’s AI detection), attackers couldn’t traverse all three layers without triggering alerts.
PIAM Meets Active Directory and HRIS: Adaptive Access in Action
Access permissions don’t live in a vacuum. They must reflect the living reality of personnel assignments, employment status, and project roles.
CloudGate’s integration with HRIS and Active Directory systems ensures that physical access is automatically:
Granted on day one of onboarding
Modified when job responsibilities change
Revoked instantly when an employee leaves or a project concludes
This adaptive model means that project engineers reassigned to non-sensitive roles can no longer access restricted labs—even if they still work on the same campus.
Contractor Control: From Risk to Reinforcement
The defense contractor’s biggest vulnerability wasn’t internal—it was external. With hundreds of contractors cycling through in short project bursts, access provisioning was a logistical nightmare.
CloudGate’s Contractor PIAM Module changed the game:
Pre-vetted contractors were sent digital wallet credentials in advance
Credentials activated only during scheduled contract periods
Access was restricted by project location and role
Automatic expiration prevented “zombie credentials” from lingering post-departure
Within two quarters, the contractor reduced unauthorized contractor access events to zero. Badge printing costs dropped by 72%. Compliance audits improved across all metrics.
TRA Face ID: Precision Entry for Sensitive Zones
Face ID isn’t about convenience—it’s about certainty. When it comes to safeguarding classified operations, the ability to verify identity with 99.99% accuracy in under a second is no longer optional.
CloudGate’s TRA Face ID enabled:
Touchless, frictionless entry—no shared surfaces, no badges to lose
Continuous learning algorithms—detecting subtle changes in appearance
Anti-spoofing tech—guarding against printed masks, photos, or synthetic imagery
In one incident, an employee attempted to access a lab while using a high-fidelity printed face mask—CloudGate's liveness detection immediately flagged the attempt, denied access, and escalated to security. Without biometrics, this breach would have succeeded.
Centralized Command and Event Intelligence
One of the contractor's game-changers was centralizing access intelligence across multiple campuses. CloudGate’s command dashboard provided:
Live activity streams by region, site, and security zone
Cross-location credential monitoring (tracking when and where identities moved)
AI-driven behavioral analysis to surface anomalies before they triggered alerts
Real-time lockdown controls in the event of an access-based incident
The security team, once reactive and overwhelmed, now had a proactive operating system to manage identity—not just record it.
The Economics of Trustless Security
While the project began as a compliance initiative, the return on investment was undeniable:
72% reduction in physical badge production costs
40% decrease in security labor required for badge issuance and manual tracking
30% faster onboarding of new personnel
Elimination of fines tied to expired contractor credentials
CloudGate didn’t just harden the perimeter—it streamlined operations, lowered cost centers, and reduced compliance overhead.
Future-Ready Infrastructure
As the contractor prepares for expansion into space defense, unmanned aerial systems, and AI-augmented weapons systems, the scalability of CloudGate PIAM is proving critical.
The roadmap includes:
Integration with drone access bays
Access-controlled smart lockers for weapons kits
Mobile command trailers with facial recognition–enabled entry
In the future, Zero Trust won't be an add-on—it will be the architectural core of every secure facility. With CloudGate, that future is already here.
Conclusion: Zero Trust is the New Loyalty
In the defense world, loyalty is earned. But when it comes to access, loyalty is not enough. Only verified identity, mission-aligned access, and layered security controls can truly protect the enterprise.
For this Fortune 500 defense contractor, Soloinsight’s CloudGate PIAM was more than a security solution—it was a new operating principle:
One where badges aren’t enough.
One where identities evolve in real-time.
One where trust is replaced with proof, context, and control.
This is the Zero Trust frontier of physical identity management. And for those on the frontlines of defense, it’s not optional—it’s essential.
Contact Soloinsight
Looking to build a defense-in-depth model for your sensitive operations? Contact Soloinsight to discover how CloudGate PIAM can transform your security perimeter into an intelligent, trustless, and fully verified environment.
