Zero Trust Identity Fabric for Multi-Layer Telecom Networks: Implications for Secure and Scalable Digital Infrastructure

Abstract

The fast change of telecoms to multi-layer, cloud-native, and extremely distributed architectures, in effect, increased the attack surface to a level where the conventional security models that rely on perimeters are no longer effective. Advanced breaches that exploit the identity compromise, lateral movement, and API vulnerability would demand a full shift of the focus of identity-centric to security. how Zero Trust concepts and an Identity Fabric can secure multi-layer telecom networks traversing Radio Access Network, transport, core, service, management, cloud, and edge layers with identity as the primary control plane, the proposed Zero Trust Identity Fabric would permit ongoing authentication, highly detailed authorization, and real-time risk evaluation of users, devices, workloads, and network functions. The study examines the identity requirements of telecom layers and the identity threats, and also represents a conceptual architecture consisting of points of policy decision and enforcement, identity providers, and device posture management. A stable and scalable digital platform, and so, on which the advantages consist of the following: reduced lateral flow, policy enforcement, heterogeneous environment interoperability, and endurance through ongoing monitoring and analytics. Zero Trust Identity Fabric integration is a necessity to ensure that the telecom ecosystems in the present or the future are flexible, scalable, and secure.