Device validation helps establish a trusted connection based on certificate-based keys in a ZT deployment. Device validation is the process of verifying the identity and posture of the devices that request access to the protected resources. Device validation relies on the use of certificates, which are digital credentials that bind the device identity to a public key. Certificates are issued by a trusted authority and can be used to authenticate the device and encrypt the communication. Device validation helps to ensure that only healthy and compliant devices can access the resources, and that the connection is secure and confidential.

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Certificate of Competence in Zero Trust (CCZT) prepkit, page 15, section 2.2.3

Zero Trust and Windows device health - Windows Security, section “Device health attestation on Windows”

Devices and zero trust | Google Cloud Blog, section “In a zero trust environment, every device has to earn trust in order to be granted access.”