Never trust, always verify: Exploring zero trust architecture asa security paradigm for social media

Abstract

Social media platforms have grown into massive data hubs, hosting billions of user records and serving as critical digital infrastructure. This makes them prime targets for Account Takeover Attacks (ATA), API leakage, and insider threats. The traditional Castle-and-Moat security model is structurally ill-equipped to handle these challenges because it relies on implicit trust based on network location. In this paper, a three-tier Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) framework tailored for social media platforms is proposed. The three tiers are: an Identity Tier for continuous biometric authentication, an API and Application Tier for Just-In-Time (JIT) access delivery, and a Data Tier for micro-segmented private communication. A systematic review of thirteen selected research papers was conducted to evaluate the security benefits of this proposed solution. Based on the findings, a Java-based simulation framework for implementing Zero Trust Architecture on social media platforms has been proposed. The results confirm that this solution delivers meaningful security improvements for social media platforms. The principle of “Never Trust, Always Verify” has been established as a foundational requirement for the digital security landscape of 2026