Your Salesforce environment likely has an unaudited security gap: access to the deployment pipeline.
Most organizations verify who logs into Salesforce, but not who pushes metadata changes to production, or whether those changes escalate privileges.
Native Salesforce tools cannot meet regulatory compliance requirements, and the platform's 180-day Setup Audit Trail leaves years of compliance documentation missing.
This article evaluates seven Zero Trust platforms across four security layers:
- Microsoft Entra ID: Identity provider with conditional access policies
- Okta Identity Cloud: Federal-aligned identity and access management
- Zscaler: Security service edge platform
- Fortinet: Network-level Zero Trust for distributed environments
- Palo Alto Networks: Enterprise threat prevention and access controls
- Salesforce Shield: Native platform encryption and monitoring
- Flosum: Deployment pipeline security and extended audit retention
Regulatory Requirements for Zero Trust Compliance
Salesforce's 180-day Setup Audit Trail creates immediate SOX non-compliance for organizations requiring seven-year retention:
Audit your current Salesforce configuration against these requirements. If you store financial data, healthcare records, or payment information, prioritize platforms that address your largest gaps.
Why Standard Salesforce Security Creates Compliance Gaps
Native Salesforce security fails Zero Trust requirements in three specific ways:
1. Insufficient Audit Retention: Setup Audit Trail retains data for 180 days. SOX requires seven years. Field Audit Trail extends retention but only tracks field-level changes, not permission modifications or deployment operations.
2. No Deployment-Level Verification: The Metadata API accepts credential-based access without continuous authorization checks. An attacker with compromised deployment credentials can modify permission sets, escalate privileges or alter field-level security without triggering alerts.
3. Credential-Based API Access: Native tools lack certificate-based authentication for automated deployments. Session tokens persist without revalidation, violating the Zero Trust principle of continuous verification.
Run a deployment audit to identify how many users have Metadata API access, when credentials were last rotated and whether any automated processes use stored passwords rather than certificate-based authentication.
Top 7 Zero Trust Platforms for Salesforce Environments
Select platforms based on your highest-priority gap: identity management, network-level access control or deployment pipeline security.
Identity Providers
Microsoft Entra ID
Microsoft Entra ID achieved the highest Strategy score in The Forrester Wave report. Configure conditional access policies to require step-up authentication when users access Salesforce from new devices or locations.
Key Capabilities: SAML-based SSO, device compliance verification, risk-based MFA triggers and session timeout enforcement
Best for: Organizations already using Microsoft 365 who want unified identity governance without adding vendors
Okta Identity Cloud
Okta appears in the NIST Zero Trust implementation guide. Use Salesforce's integration documentation to configure periodic reauthentication during active sessions.
Key Capabilities: Vendor-neutral identity federation, federal security standard alignment and automated user provisioning and deprovisioning
Best for: Government contractors, ISV partners or organizations with multi-cloud environments requiring vendor-neutral identity
Network Security Platforms
Zscaler
Zscaler earned Leader status in the 2025 Gartner SSE report as the most widely deployed SSE platform. The Zero Trust Exchange validates device posture before allowing Salesforce connections.
Key Capabilities: Secure Web Gateway, Cloud Access Security Broker, browser isolation and data loss prevention
Best for: Remote-first organizations needing to secure Salesforce access from unmanaged devices and networks
Fortinet
Fortinet ranked #1 for Secure Branch Network Modernization in the 2025 Gartner SASE report. Deploy Universal ZTNA to verify device health at the network edge before allowing Salesforce connections.
Key Capabilities: SD-WAN integration, network-edge device verification, AI-powered threat detection and branch office security
Best for: Retail, healthcare or manufacturing organizations with distributed branch offices requiring network-level enforcement
Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks earned Leader recognition in The Forrester Wave report. Prisma Access applies data loss prevention policies while verifying user identity for every Salesforce request.
Key Capabilities: Unified network, cloud, and endpoint security, least-privilege network segmentation and integrated DLP
Best for: Large enterprises with dedicated security operations teams needing consolidated threat prevention
Native Platform Foundation
Salesforce Shield
Salesforce Shield provides encryption and monitoring that external solutions build upon. Field Audit Trail now supports unlimited retention for field-level changes.
Key Capabilities: Platform Encryption for data at rest, Event Monitoring for user activity and Field Audit Trail for field change history
Limitation: Does not track permission changes, deployment operations or provide continuous session verification
Best for: Every Salesforce organization as the baseline security layer, but requires external platforms for full Zero Trust compliance
Deployment Pipeline Security
Flosum
Flosum addresses the deployment verification gap with pre-deployment security validation. Policy-based controls block permission escalation before changes reach production.
Key Capabilities: Pre-deployment permission scanning, automated security gates, extended audit retention and certificate-based deployment authentication
Best for: Organizations using Salesforce with active development teams, ISV partners or enterprises managing multiple Salesforce orgs
Critical Capabilities Matrix
Use this matrix to identify which platforms address your specific compliance gaps:
Platform Selection & Implementation Timeline by Organization Type
SMB (< 500 users): Start with Okta and Shield to establish identity management and native encryption. Identity providers like Okta typically require 2–4 weeks for initial Salesforce integration, so you can begin by configuring SAML SSO.
Add Flosum when you need extended audit retention for compliance requirements; deployment pipeline solutions integrate within 1–2 weeks for organizations with existing CI/CD workflows.
Mid-Market (500–5,000 users): Begin with Entra ID or Okta, combined with Okta Shield, for identity and baseline security.
Expect 2–4 weeks to configure SAML SSO with Salesforce. Expand to Zscaler and Flosum as your security needs mature and development teams grow; network security platforms require 4–8 weeks for full deployment, starting with agent deployment to a pilot user group.
Enterprise (5,000+ users): Deploy Entra ID, Shield and Palo Alto Networks for comprehensive identity, encryption and network security. Plan for 2–4 weeks for identity provider integration and 4–8 weeks for network security deployment.
Add Flosum and Zscaler to the deployment pipeline to protect it and provide secure service edge capabilities. This follows the enterprise integration pattern: Entra ID, Palo Alto, Shield and Flosum.
Multi-Cloud Environments: Start with Okta and Zscaler for vendor-neutral identity and network security across platforms. This cloud-first pattern (Okta, Zscaler and Flosum) requires 2–4 weeks for identity setup and 4–8 weeks for network security. Add Shield and Flosum for Salesforce-specific encryption and deployment controls.
ISV/AppExchange Partners: Begin with Okta and Flosum to secure multi-org deployments and maintain customer trust. Flosum connects to existing CI/CD workflows within 1–2 weeks. Add Shield for enhanced encryption when handling sensitive customer data.
Government/Public Sector: Deploy Okta and Palo Alto Networks to meet federal security standards and threat prevention requirements. Identity integration takes 2–4 weeks; network security requires 4–8 weeks, starting with pilot user deployment. Add Shield and Flosum for encryption and extended audit retention required by government regulations.
Distributed Branch Offices: Start with Fortinet and Entra ID for network-edge security and unified identity across locations. This distributed pattern (Okta, Fortinet and Flosum) requires 4–8 weeks for network deployment across branch offices. Add Shield and Flosum for platform encryption and deployment pipeline controls.
FAQs About Zero Trust Security Software & Salesforce
Does Salesforce have built-in Zero Trust capabilities?
Salesforce provides foundational security through profiles, permission sets, role hierarchies and Salesforce Shield. However, native capabilities have documented gaps: the Setup Audit Trail only retains data for 180 days, and the Metadata API lacks continuous authorization checks during deployments. Full Zero Trust compliance requires external platforms for identity verification, network security, and deployment pipeline protection.
Which Zero Trust platform should I choose for Salesforce?
Platform selection depends on your primary security gap. Choose Microsoft Entra ID or Okta for identity and access management, Zscaler or Palo Alto Networks for network-level security, Salesforce Shield for native encryption and monitoring, and Flosum for deployment pipeline security and extended audit retention. Most organizations need platforms from multiple categories to achieve comprehensive coverage.
How long does Zero Trust implementation take for Salesforce?
Implementation timelines vary by platform type. Identity providers like Entra ID and Okta typically require 2–4 weeks for initial Salesforce integration. Network security platforms require 4–8 weeks for full deployment. Deployment pipeline solutions like Flosum can be integrated within 1–2 weeks for organizations with existing CI/CD workflows.
What is the deployment security gap in Salesforce?
The deployment security gap is the lack of continuous verification when metadata changes are deployed to production. Native Salesforce tools verify who logs into the platform, but not who deploys changes via the Metadata API. Compromised deployment credentials can be used to modify permission sets, escalate privileges or alter field-level security without triggering real-time alerts. This gap represents the largest uncovered attack surface in Salesforce Zero Trust implementations.
Can I use multiple Zero Trust platforms together?
Yes, a comprehensive Zero Trust coverage typically requires layered solutions. Common patterns include Okta, Zscaler, and Flosum for cloud-native organizations; Entra ID, Palo Alto and Shield for enterprise environments; and Okta, Fortinet and Flosum for distributed organizations. These platforms are designed to work together, with identity providers handling authentication, network platforms validating traffic and deployment solutions securing metadata operations.
Start Securing Your Salesforce Deployment Pipeline Today
Deployment pipeline security is the most commonly overlooked Zero Trust gap. Organizations without pre-deployment verification remain exposed to privilege escalation that native Change Sets cannot detect.
Immediate Actions:
- Audit your Metadata API access, and identify all users and automated processes with deployment permissions
- Check your audit trail retention against regulatory requirements
- Evaluate whether your current CI/CD workflow validates permission changes before production deployment
Modern DevSecOps practices integrate security validation directly into CI/CD workflows rather than relying on post-deployment audits. Extended audit retention ensures SOX, HIPAA and GDPR compliance beyond Salesforce's 180-day limit. Certificate-based deployment authentication eliminates credential-based vulnerabilities in your CI/CD pipeline.
Flosum closes deployment security gaps that other Zero Trust platforms cannot address. With pre-deployment permission scanning, Flosum automatically blocks privilege escalation before changes reach production.
Request a demo to see how Flosum's pre-deployment security validation, extended audit retention and policy-based CI/CD controls can close your compliance gaps and secure your Salesforce deployment pipeline.
Thank you for subscribing
.webp)
