arXiv subjects

Mahima Agarwal

Publications and source records attributed to Mahima Agarwal.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Security-First Approach to API Pipeline Development with Zero-Trust Architecture

Modern enterprises face an accelerating onslaught of API-targeted threats amid a rapidly expanding attack surface. Record volumes of software vulnerabilities continue to accelerate dramatically, with 28,818 CVEs disclosed in 2023 (a 38% jump from 2022) and 40,009 CVEs in 2024 (another 38% increase), while the average time-to-exploit (TTE) of new flaws shrank to mere days (approximately 5 days in 2023, down from 32 days in 2021). At the same time, API usage dominates web traffic and has become a primary vector for breaches - 99% of organizations experienced API security incidents in the last year, with 22% suffering actual data breaches via APIs (based on industry vendor research). This paper proposes a comprehensive "security-first" framework for API pipeline development, leveraging Zero-Trust Architecture principles within DevSecOps practices to counter these trends. We introduce a five-pillar approach encompassing Governance & Planning, Secure Design, Continuous Testing, Pipeline Controls, and Runtime Protection, aligned with industry standards (OWASP API Security Top 10 2023, NIST Secure Software Development Framework) and recent cybersecurity advisories. The results show significant improvements in vulnerability mitigation and breach prevention (e.g., 30% reduction in security incidents and 40% fewer post-release vulnerabilities in representative case studies), highlighting the positive impact of proactive security integration. The paper concludes with a discussion on implementation challenges, the evolving threat landscape, and recommendations for organizations to adopt a security-first pipeline with Zero-Trust to fortify API development against current and future threats.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2026

Lockbox -- A Zero Trust Architecture for Secure Processing of Sensitive Cloud Workloads

Enterprises increasingly rely on cloud-based applications to process highly sensitive data artifacts. Although cloud adoption improves agility and scalability, it also introduces new security challenges such as expanded attack surfaces, a wider radius of attack from credential compromise, and challenges maintaining strict access controls across users, services, and workflows. These challenges are especially acute for applications that handle privileged data and execute security-critical analysis, where traditional trust boundaries and ad hoc safeguards are insufficient. This paper presents Lockbox; a Zero Trust architecture designed for secure processing of sensitive cloud workloads under strict enterprise security and governance requirements. Lockbox applies explicit trust verification, strong isolation, least-privilege access, and policy-driven enforcement throughout the entire application lifecycle, from user authentication and document ingestion to analysis execution and result storage. The system incorporates modern cloud security primitives including; role-based access control, centralized key management, encryption in transit and at rest, and controlled integration with cloud-based data processing services, ensuring that sensitive artifacts remain protected and accessible only to authorized users. We discuss the usage of Lockbox in processing highly sensitive cybersecurity reports and demonstrate how this architecture enables organizations to safely adopt advanced capabilities, including AI-assisted processing, without weakening their security posture.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2024

Generation of Streaming Beam-Plasma Instability in Variable Lunar Plasma around Moon

Two-stream instability (TSI) is studied analytically in the lunar plasma environment. The electrons in the solar wind constitute the electron-beam and the lunar electron plasma constitutes the background plasma with which the electron-beam interacts to trigger the TSI. The lunar plasma is considered to have a variable proportion of the energetic (hot) electrons, 1% to 25% of the total lunar electrons, along with the bulk thermal (cold) population. The analysis shows that the presence of energetic electrons in the lunar plasma environment modify the TSI dispersion relation and can have a significant impact on the triggering of TSI and are capable of triggering nonlinear phenomena by making the lunar plasma system unstable.

physics.plasm-ph↗