SSE competitive comparison

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• Hybrid users are protected as they access any app over any port or protocol thanks to the coupling of ZTNA and VPNaaS to secure all private apps.

• Does not include VPNaaS.
• Must use a third-party VPN.
• User intervention is needed to decide which access is required for each type of private app.

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• Hybrid users are protected as they access any app over any port or protocol due to the coupling of ZTNA and VPNaaS to secure all private apps.

• Primary focus is on Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP).
• Dependency on third-party VPN for non-ZTNA apps, which does not allow for automated routing for end user.

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• User experience is constantly monitored.
• IT admin can quickly troubleshoot with Cisco AI-enabled DEM with visibility even inside the tunnel.
• Included in the Secure Access licensing and fully integrated into the single console.

• DEM is available only as an add-on license for ZDX advanced and Advanced Plus capabilities.
• Not integrated in either the ZIA or ZPA console.

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• Cisco/Apple collaboration provides the industry's first Zero Trust Access embedded in Apple iOS, which uses MASQUE/QUIC and private relay.
• The Cisco and Samsung collaboration enables high-speed zero trust access from Galaxy devices through Samsung Knox.

• Zscaler does not currently use MASQUE and QUIC.
• Without these modern protocols, Zscaler cannot offer performance benefits such as faster connection establishment, efficient traffic tunneling, strong encryption, and improved privacy through encrypted proxying.

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• All security services are managed through a single fully integrated interface, powered by AI.

• Zscaler has separate dashboards for ZIA, ZPA, ZDX, and ZCC.

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZIA)

• Unified security policy creation, including intent-based rules, and management across internet, public SaaS apps, and private app access.
• Provides extensive logging and the ability to export logs to enterprise SIEM, and more.

• Complex and separated dashboard makes it hard for security admins to navigate, configure unified policies, and to quickly assess the status of security controls.

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• Generative AI capability that automatically converts conversational phrases in natural languages into security policies.
• Speeds up policy creation and administration by up to 70%.

• No AI to create policies or to provide policy guidance.

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

A single client with multiple functions reduces the effort in user onboarding and ongoing maintenance. It also simplifies the journey to ZTNA, and includes:  

• Secure internet access
• Secure private access (ZTNA prioritized with VPNaaS as a fallback for unsupported private apps, such as custom, legacy, and workload)
• Device posture
• Digital experience monitoring (DEM)
• iOS and Android zero trust

• Zscaler does not have a unified client that includes VPNaaS.

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• Unified OAuth with short-lived tokens and unified endpoints grouped by use cases. 
• Create multiple unique API keys with meaningful names and configurable lifetimes.

• An organization can only have one single key. 
•  APIs are available with an add-on license only.

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• Client-based and clientless ZTNA.
• Granular, app-specific access to private applications in data centers or public/private cloud environments.
• Per app segmentation from client to SSE.
• Per identity-aware proxy design.

• Zscaler offers client-based and clientless ZTNA.
• Dynamic application discovery.

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• Not all private apps can be covered by ZTNA (customized, legacy, peer-to-peer, and more).
• An automated, transparent fallback to VPNaaS is a cloud-based capability that is included.
• VPNaaS simplifies migration to ZTNA.
• No VPN hardware/load balancing/local maintenance and support needed.

• Zscaler does not offer VPNaaS.
• For legacy/custom/workload applications, customers must purchase VPN service from third-party vendors, which also requires an additional agent on the endpoint.  

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• Threat intelligence at scale powered by Cisco Talos.
• Expansive telemetry uncovers 800 billion security events per day from SSE, SSX (FW), CSE (endpoint), Meraki, DUO, ESA (email), and integrations.
• 9 million malicious emails blocked per hour.
• 2000 new malware samples seen every minute.
• 2000 malicious domains blocked every second.

• Zscaler ThreatLabz provides threat intel-leveraging AI, based on visiblity only from the company's SSE offering.

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

• Log and inspect all web traffic over ports 80/443 for greater transparency, control, and protection.
• IPsec tunnels, PAC files, and proxy chaining are used to forward traffic for full visibility, URL, and application-level controls, and client-based acquisition traffic.

• Zscaler offers URL filtering with a variety of traffic acquisition.

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• Detect and report on cloud applications, including generative AI apps, in use. 
• Manage cloud adoption and block use of select cloud applications.
• Multimode capabilities to detect, log, and control user/group activities. 
• Detect third-party cloud applications that have been granted OAuth-based permission to access a user's protected resources on Microsoft 365 and remediate unapproved apps.

• Zscaler CASB is available with an add-on license only.
• It offers the ability to monitor and protect users activity and traffic to cloud applications.

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• Multimode data loss prevention, which includes both real-time and SaaS API-based DLP.
• Analyze data in-line to provide visibility and control over sensitive data.
• API-based DLP functionality for out-of-band analysis of data at rest in the cloud.
• Cisco uses several machine learning LLMs for dynamic document recognition and policy design, in conjunction with all the predefined document templates.
• Cisco DLP is designed for analysis and remediation. No need for different screens and data sources to determine how to remediate.

• To prevent data leaks, Zscaler does offer DLP policies that monitor and detect to stop sensitive data loss.
• SaaS API is offered as as add-on.

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• Over 720 generative-AI platforms detected.
• Assign DLP policies to AI applications.
• Detects and blocks risky content.
• Block uploads of proprietary source code.
• Block download of content produced from generative AI.

• Configuration for internet-based apps requires additional DLP licensing. 

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• Included in license.
• Customizable policies (IP, port, protocol, application and IPS policies).
• Layer 3 / 4 firewall to log all activity and block unwanted traffic.
• Layer 7 application visibility and control.

• Zero Trust Firewall is available with an add-on license only.
• Zscaler cloud firewall offers granular control for outbound web apps and some non-web apps.

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• Protects both internet and private traffic.
• Includes an added layer of threat prevention using SNORT 3 technology, signature-based detection, and encryption.
• Cisco Secure Access offers IPS/decryption for private apps.

• Zero Trust Firewall is available with an add-on license only.
• Zscaler cloud firewall offers granular control for outbound for web and some non-web apps.

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• RBI is included in the standard licensing.
• Provide air gap between user, device, and browser-based threats.
• Deliver a secure browsing experience and protection from zero-day threats.

• Cyber Isolation Advanced and Unlimited Plus offers granular control and threat detection as an add-on license only.

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• Recursive DNS security services since 2012.
• Protection against DNS Tunneling with a detection rate of 99% and powered by AI.
• Cache poisoning attacks, without having to perform validation locally.
• Supports both IPv4 and IPV6 addresses.
• Newly Seen Domain category to protect against day/emerging threats.

• Zscaler recently updated its DNS security service to detect and prevent DNS-based attacks with some limitations on workload traffic.

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• TLS 1.3 decryption natively supported.

• Zscaler supports TLS 1.3 natively.

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• Modern network protocols like MASQUE and QUIC for enhanced performance and stability, especially in lossy networks, and when moving between networks. 
• Improved security and compatibility of private apps.

• Does not utilize QUIC and/or MASQUE in Zscaler architecture.

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• Cloud-native security services are run in parallel, not sequentially, ensuring that all connections are processed quickly without compromising on performance or security.
• Built on top of vector packet processing (VPP), this modern, high-speed pipeline in software ensures efficiency and high performance, even with sophisticated software-as-a-service (SaaS) apps such as Microsoft 365.

• Zscaler requires application bypass for some SaaS applications such as Microsoft 365.
• Zscaler has Single-Scan, Multi-Action (SSMA).

Cisco Secure Access

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• Socket-based intercept combined with our unified policy management ensures endpoint traffic is optimally sent to ZTNA or VPN without user intervention.
• Single client for internet-bound and private traffic, with full support for private apps (ZTNA/VPNaaS) and without any impact to user experience. 

• User Intervention is required to select Zscaler or third-party VPN for application access.
• Independent policy configuration and two solutions separately managed by operators. 
• Two separate endpoint clients on the end-user devices also requires additional maintenance.

Cisco Secure Access

Cisco SD-WAN

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

• We offer native integration of Cisco Secure Access with Cisco SD-WAN for a unified Cisco SASE solution from a single vendor.

• Zscaler offers Zero Trust SD-WAN through edge appliances with a focus on connecting branches to Zero Trust Exchange primarily. It does not cover advanced SD-WAN use-cases such as Predictive path performance.

Cisco Secure Access

Cisco SD-WAN 

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)

Third-party SSE vendors

Third-party SD-WAN vendors

• Cisco Secure Access can integrate with third-party SD-WAN solutions.
• Cisco SD-WAN (Catalyst or Meraki) can integrate with third-party SSE solutions.

• Zscaler ZIA and ZPA can integrate with third-party SD-WAN solutions.
• Zscaler offers SD-WAN through its Zero Trust appliances for branch connectivity.