A BLUE PRINT FOR ZERO TRUST NETWORK ARCHITECTURE: AN INSTITUTIONAL DATA SECURITY AT FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC, MUBI, ADAMAWA STATE NIGERIA

Abstract

Traditional cloud network security relies heavily on perimeter-based firewalls and legacy Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). Empirical industry evidence indicates that over 80% of enterprise data breaches, compromised credentials and subsequent unauthorized lateral movement across internal subnets. This paper proposes a blue print for Zero Trust Network Architecture (ZTNA) plan aimed at Federal Polytechnic Mubi in Adamawa State, Nigeria. In the design, the system incorporates a centralized Policy Decision Point (PDP) and Policy Enforcement Point (PEP), development access verification engine that evaluates user identity claims, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) tokens in real time. Zero-Trust Network Architecture engine eliminates implicit trust, verifies every session contextually, and enforces continuous least-privilege micro-segmentation to secure cloud-hosted corporate storage. The Federal Polytechnic, Mubi system tested automatically auditing login subsystem to record session evaluations, security rule violations, and access denials for compliance tracking. Zero-Trust Network Architecture (ZTNA) engine decouples traditional perimeter access management into a modular, multi-tier control plane and data plane model. The system operates by shifting access management away from static perimeter security toward continuous, context-aware policy enforcement. When an access request is initiated, the Identity Provider (IdP) first verifies user credentials and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) token status. This context payload is transmitted to the Policy Decision Point (PDP), which dynamically evaluates the multi-attribute risk parameters against predefined security rules. Every execution generates structured event telemetry containing reason codes and session metadata, which is immediately dispatched to the Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) audit console. The core result of the developed Zero-Trust Network Architecture (ZTNA) control engine is captured in the single-page interactive control dashboard. The interface integrates the Context Ingestion Panel (Input Form), the Dynamic Architecture Verification Pathway (Topology Node Map), and the Real-Time SIEM Event Telemetry Console (Audit Log Output) into a unified operational view. As demonstrated in the system logic of Figure 3, if a subject authenticates under a standard user account but manually selects Corporate Administrator from the dropdown list, the Policy Decision Point (PDP) compares the client payload against the authoritative IdP record. Detecting a discrepancy between the assigned identity and the claimed role, the engine immediately terminates the evaluation, outputs an ERR_ROLE_SPOOFING_DETECTED result, and flags the session as a privilege escalation attack.