Leveraging Zero Trust Architectures and Blockchain Protocols to Prevent Credential Stuffing and Lateral Fraud Attacks in Enterprise Systems
International Journal of Computer Applications Technology and Research · 2025
As cyber threats evolve in complexity and scale, enterprise systems remain particularly vulnerable to credential-based attacks and lateral movement fraud.One of the most pervasive techniques, credential stuffing, exploits weak password reuse and identity management flaws, while lateral fraud attacks leverage compromised access to infiltrate deeper systems and exploit interconnected vulnerabilities.Traditional perimeter-based security models have proven inadequate, as they often grant broad access once a user is authenticated, leaving internal systems open to compromise.This paper explores how Zero Trust Architectures (ZTA) which operate on the principle of "never trust, always verify" offer a critical framework for minimizing attack surfaces, continuously authenticating users, and dynamically enforcing least-privilege access controls.Building upon this, the study proposes a layered defense strategy that integrates blockchain protocols to enhance auditability, decentralize identity management, and create tamperproof access logs.Public and permissioned blockchains are examined for their potential to mitigate trust issues between disparate systems and prevent unauthorized privilege escalation.A comparative analysis highlights how smart contracts can automate enforcement of access policies while maintaining traceability and reducing human error.Case studies from financial and government sectors are used to illustrate practical applications and performance benchmarks of combined ZTA-blockchain deployments.Ultimately, this paper argues that leveraging ZTA and blockchain in tandem creates a synergistic effect: Zero Trust policies limit lateral movement, while blockchain ensures accountability and integrity of system interactions.The paper concludes by outlining implementation challenges such as scalability, interoperability, and regulatory compliance and provides a roadmap for enterprises to transition toward a secure-by-design paradigm that defends proactively against identity-centric and insider threats.