A Zero Trust gateway creates a "virtual air gap to protect unpatchable legacy OT devices. It acts as a strict gatekeeper, verifying every connection and only allowing authorized traffic. This isolates your old gear from cyber threats, like a physical air gap, but without disrupting operations. It's a secure, software-defined barrier, keeping hackers out and your critical systems running.
Zero-day vulnerabilities in unpatchable OT devices pose a critical threat. While traditional patching is impossible, virtual air gaps and network cloaking offer a powerful, proactive defense, effectively acting as a "virtual patch." By making these devices invisible to unauthorized users and external threats, network cloaking eliminates the attack surface, preventing exploitation even if a zero-day vulnerability exists. The devices are hidden in plain sight, accessible only to verified, authorized users.
Simultaneously, the virtual air gap, created by a Zero Trust gateway, enforces strict access control, verifying every connection before allowing traffic to reach the protected devices.
This prevents unauthorized access and limits the potential impact of a successful exploit, even if an attacker discovers a zero-day. Essentially, these technologies create a protective barrier, isolating the vulnerable devices from the outside world and minimizing their exposure to potential attacks. They provide a layer of security that operates independently of the device’s inherent vulnerabilities, buying critical time until a permanent patch or replacement can be implemented.
Imagine creating a virtual air gap, a secure isolation zone, for your vulnerable legacy OT devices, without physically disconnecting them. Network cloaking achieves just that. By rendering these unpatchable systems invisible to unauthorized users and external threats, cloaking effectively simulates the security benefits of an air gap, but without the operational limitations.
These legacy devices, often critical to operations but lacking modern security features, become hidden in the digital shadows. They remain accessible to authorized personnel with verified BlastShield clients, but are completely undetectable to external attackers. This means that even if a breach occurs elsewhere in the network, the cloaked devices remain protected, isolated from the threat.
This virtual air gap provides a powerful defense against known and unknown vulnerabilities. It prevents lateral movement within the network, limiting the impact of a successful attack.
It also protects against zero-day exploits and other emerging threats to which legacy devices are particularly susceptible. Network cloaking allows you to maintain the functionality of your critical legacy systems while significantly reducing their risk exposure, effectively bridging the gap between operational necessity and security imperative.
How We do It:
This outlines a technical configuration combining network cloaking and zero trust access to create a "virtual air gap" for unpatchable OT devices, minimizing their exposure and potential attack surface.
Rationale:
Unpatchable OT devices pose significant security risks due to known vulnerabilities. An actual air gap is often impractical, but a virtual air gap aims to replicate its security benefits by minimizing network exposure and enforcing strict access controls.
By combining network cloaking with zero trust access, organizations can create a strong "virtual air gap" for unpatchable OT devices, significantly reducing their risk of compromise.
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