Cyber at the Edge
When software hits steel, mistakes cost real money. Treat the edge as first-class, not an afterthought.
Identity, segmentation, signed data, least privilege, drills.
The idea
IT, OT, IoT, and AI are now one system. Assume breach. Design for containment, verification, and fast recovery.
Threat surface
- Devices and firmware (long-lived, hard to patch)
- Supply chain (updates, images, keys)
- Data/model abuse (prompt/command injection, drift)
- Control paths to physical processes
Pattern (what good looks like)
- Identity & inventory: complete asset list; device identity (mTLS/HSM); SBOM & firmware versions.
- Network: zones & conduits; micro-segmentation; default-deny allowlists; brokered control plane.
- Data: signed telemetry; tamper-evident logs; time sync; PII policy at the edge.
- Access: least privilege; JIT access; MFA; session recording; break-glass with audit.
- Detect/Respond: edge EDR; anomaly + canary sensors; playbooks; drills quarterly.
- Safety: rate limits; dual-control for critical commands; local kill-switch.
First 30–60 days
- Build a live asset inventory; tag crown-jewel systems and flows.
- Create zones; block east-west by default; stand up a zero-trust remote access gateway.
- Enable signed logging (syslog/time-series); verify time across fleet.
- Choose one control loop; add human-in-the-loop, command logging, and rollback.
- Run a 90-minute tabletop for an edge breach; fix the gaps you find.
Signals / KPIs
- % assets inventoried & authenticated; patch latency (days)
- MTTD / MTTR; unauthorized comms blocked/week
- % signed messages; time to revoke/rotate keys
- # of successful drills/quarter; change failure rate for security changes
Risks & mitigations
- Legacy gear can’t auth: put a gateway/diode in front; isolate.
- Over-segmentation breaks ops: canary segments; staged policies; change windows.
- Supply-chain tampering: signed artifacts; SBOM checks; vendor security questionnaires.
- Human error: least privilege; runbooks; drills; clear break-glass.
If it moves electrons, it deserves identity, logging, and a plan to fail safely.