Zero Trust-X: A Research on a Zero Trust–Based Approach to Enhance Cyber Resilience Using the MITRE ATT&CK Framework

DOI

https://www.doi.org/10.59256/indjcst.20260502015

Published In

Volume 5, Issue 2 (2026)

Published Online

May-August 2026

Pages

137-144

Article Type

Original Article

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Traditional perimeter-based cybersecurity models assume implicit trust once users gain network access, making them vulnerable to credential compromise, insider threats, and lateral movement attacks. To address these limitations, this paper proposes ZeroTrustX, an integrated cybersecurity monitoring framework that combines Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) with the MITRE ATT&CK threat intelligence model to enhance organizational cyber resilience through continuous verification and behavior-aware threat detection. The proposed system enforces identity validation, role-based access control, micro-segmentation, and real-time activity monitoring to restrict unauthorized access and detect anomalous behavior across multiple attack stages. A threat simulation engine is incorporated to evaluate system responses against common attack scenarios such as phishing attempts, privilege escalation, insider threats, and lateral movement. Security events are mapped to MITRE ATT&CK tactics and techniques to improve contextual threat visibility and support faster incident response. Experimental evaluation using the developed ZeroTrustX prototype demonstrates improved detection accuracy and reduced attack propagation compared with traditional perimeter-based security approaches. The proposed framework provides a scalable and practical solution for strengthening enterprise security posture through integrated access control and structured threat intelligence mapping