What is the role of ZTNA tags in the FortiSASE Secure Internet Access (SIA) and...

In the Fortinet SASE architecture, Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) tags (which have been renamed to Security Posture Tags starting with FortiClient/EMS 7.4.0) play a critical role in continuous posture assessment. These tags are dynamic metadata assign 8 ed to an endpoint based on specific conditions or " tagging rules " defined in the FortiSASE Endpoint Management Service (EMS).

Posture Determination: The FortiClient agent, installed on the endpoint, monitors the device for various security attributes—such as whether an antivirus is running, the presence of specific registry keys, OS version, or the absence of critical vulnerabilities.

SIA (Secure Internet Access) Use Case: In SIA scenarios, FortiSASE uses these tags within security policies to control internet access. For example, a policy may allow full internet access only to endpoints tagged as " Compliant " while redirecting " Non-Compliant " devices to a restricted remediation portal.

SPA (Secure Private Access) Use Case: In SPA (specifically ZTNA Proxy mode), the tags are synchronized from FortiSASE to the corporate FortiGate (acting as the ZTNA Access Proxy). 12 When a user attempts to access a private application, the FortiGate checks the endpoint ' s client certificate and its synchronized ZTNA tags. 13 If the endpoint does not meet the required posture (e.g., it is missing a required " Domain-Joined " tag), access is denied at the session level.

According to the FortiSASE 25 Enterprise Administrator Study Guide , ZTNA tags are fundamental to the " Zero Trust " principle because they move beyond static identity (username/password) to verify the real-time security state of the device before granting access to either the internet or internal private resources.