Zero Trust OT Cybersecurity Protection for Governments

Governments are entrusted with safeguarding the very foundations of nations, protecting critical infrastructure that underpins public safety and security. BlastWave understands the immense responsibility you carry. Our Zero Trust solutions are purpose-built to fortify government OT networks against today’s sophisticated threats, eliminating the root causes of cyber attacks and providing an impenetrable defense for your most vital assets. We empower governments to secure essential services with confidence, ensuring operational continuity and protecting the well-being of citizens.

Governments are responsible for keeping a nation’s critical infrastructure operational for their citizens, but they are also responsible for securing government-operated networks. In the US, published specifications like NIST 800-207 (Zero Trust Architecture), CISA’s Zero Trust Maturity Model 2.0, and the DoD Zero Trust Reference Architecture have helped government enterprises build secure networks.

The government sector runs Operational Technology (OT) networks like the commercial sector. Military bases and government facilities have power, water, and logistics infrastructure. Governments directly run water utilities, communications networks, national power grids, pipelines, and other OT infrastructures. Each agency responsible for that infrastructure must secure it per the relevant regulations and guidelines. These facilities are increasingly under attack by bad actors of all types.

Figure 1: Defense OT Networks

BlastShield™: Zero Trust OT Protection For Government Critical Infrastructure

With BlastShield, government organizations gain secure remote access, network segmentation, and network cloaking, rendering critical systems undiscoverable to attackers and mitigating the risk of unauthorized access. BlastWave is aligned with NIST 800-53, 800-207 (Zero Trust), CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model, and the DoD Zero Trust Reference Architecture.

The scale and scope of the risk to government networks, especially its critical OT infrastructure, cannot be underestimated. Multiple reports have detailed the use of AI to aid attacks and hacking of government networks worldwide. The first line of defense in depth for government OT networks must be a solution that resists the initial threat vectors, phishing, reconnaissance, and no-code tools that are uplifted by AI, as reported by the UK government (Table 1)

Table 1: Oil & Gas Sector-Specific OT Cybersecurity Landscape

ROM Severity

Highly capable state threat actors

Capable state actors, commercial companies selling to states, organised cyber crime groups

Less-skilled hackers-forhire, opportunistic cyber criminals, hacktivists

Intent

High

Opportunistic

Capability

Highly skilled in AI and cyber, well resourced

Skilled in cyber, some resource constraints

Novice cyber skills, limited resource

Reconnaissance

Moderate uplift

Uplift

Social engineering, phishing, passwords

Uplift

Significant uplift (from low base)

Tools (malware,exploits)

Realistic possibility of uplift

Minimal uplift

Moderate uplift (from low base)

Lateral movement

Minimal uplift

No uplift

Exfiltration

Uplift

Uplift

Best placed to harness AI’s potential in advanced cyber operations against networks, for example use in advanced malware generation.

Most capability uplift in reconnaissance, social engineering and exfiltration. Will proliferate AI-enabled tools to novice cyber actors.

Lower barrier to entry to effective and scalable access operations - increasing volume of successful compromise of devices and accounts

BlastShield presents a minimal attack surface toward the world, with only biometric-authenticated connections allowed to enter secure OT enclaves. Here are some of the government use cases BlastWave delivers:

Securing Water/Wastewater Infrastructure

Protecting water treatment and distribution systems from unauthorized control and contamination.
Securing wastewater collection and treatment facilities.

Protecting Power Grids and Energy Systems

Securing power generation, transmission, and distribution netwo
Protecting renewable energy infrastructure (solar, wind).

Enabling Secure Remote Access

Providing secure remote access for government employees and contractors
Facilitating secure collaboration between agencies.

Securing Transportation Systems

Protecting traffic management systems (signals, control centers).
Securing rail and subway control systems
Securing airport and aviation systems.

Protecting Public Safety Networks

Securing emergency communication systems (911, dispatch).
Protecting HVAC, lighting, and security systems in government buildings.

Securing Defense Systems

Protecting military installations and bases.
Securing weapon systems and control networks.
Protecting communication and intelligence networks

Compliance with Government Security Standards

Assisting with compliance requirements (NIST, CMMC, DoD Zero Trust, etc.)

Protecting Against Advanced Threats

Protecting against AI-powered reconnaissance and phishing.
Mitigating the risk of Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs).

Network Security Fundamentals

Using network cloaking to hide critical assets.
Using passwordless MFA to prevent credential theft.
Using segmentation and microsegmentation to limit the impact of breaches
Implementing a Zero Trust architecture.
Securing unpatchable legacy devices.

About BlastWave

BlastWave securely connects Industrial Control Systems, Operational Technology, and Critical Infrastructure networks with Zero Trust Protection and delivers industrial-grade cybersecurity with consumer-grade ease-of-use.

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Discover how BlastShield™ delivers simple, effective, and cost-efficient Zero Trust protection for government-operated OT networks and critical infrastructure.

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