Answering the Call: How Neeve Protects OT from the Approaching AI Cyber Threat

A coalition of technology and cybersecurity leaders recently issued an urgent wake-up call to critical infrastructure operators. In an open letter titled “A call for collective action on cyber defense,” OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS, Microsoft, and over 100 industry signatories warned that organizations have a narrow window to prepare for widespread, AI-enabled cyberattacks.

As reported by Axios, this threat isn’t theoretical. CISA recently issued an advisory (AA26-231A) detailing attacks on US water systems that utilized AI-generated exploitation scripts. Because these AI-crafted exploits are generated dynamically, they lack known attack signatures—rendering traditional, signature-dependent defenses obsolete before the attack even begins.

For Operational Technology (OT) and critical infrastructure, the challenge is even steeper. OpenAI’s letter highlights a key operational reality: where a system cannot be patched without disrupting essential services, organizations must apply and verify compensating controls.

Why Traditional OT Security Falls Short

In OT environments, taking legacy systems offline for patching can interrupt water treatment, hospital operations, power grids, or facility management. Furthermore, legacy remote access methods like traditional VPNs leave networks exposed to credential theft and lateral movement.

When facing AI-driven threats, OT security requires three non-negotiables:

1. Defense that doesn’t rely on known malware signatures.
2. Robust compensating controls for legacy systems that cannot be patched.
3. Zero-downtime deployment that protects uptime and essential services.

How Neeve Answers the Call for OT Defense

Neeve was built specifically to solve these OT and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) security challenges:

• Zero Trust Architecture over Signatures: Neeve Secure Edge shifts the defense model from reactive detection to proactive enforcement. By implementing strict Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), micro-segmentation, and role-based access controls, Neeve stops unauthorized lateral movement, neutralizing AI-generated zero-day exploits regardless of whether a signature exists.
• Immediate Compensating Controls for Legacy OT: Rather than forcing risky firmware patches or complete network overhauls on outdated equipment, Neeve acts as an inline compensating control. It wraps legacy hardware in a hardened, certified secure gateway (featuring TPM hardware boot verification and encrypted micro-tunnels).
• Replacing Risky VPNs with Secure Remote Access: VPNs are a primary vector for critical infrastructure breaches. Neeve replaces legacy VPNs with granular, audited, zero-trust remote access for internal teams and third-party vendors.
• Continuous Visibility without Service Disruption: Neeve automates OT asset discovery (including specialized protocols like BACnet) to maintain an accurate inventory of connected devices, delivering real-time threat isolation without taking essential services offline.

Act Before the Defender’s Window Closes

The consensus across AI frontier labs and cybersecurity agencies is clear: status quo security is no longer sufficient, and the time to reinforce critical infrastructure is now.

Neeve provides the practical, deployable OT defense platform that CISA and tech leaders are calling for; delivering uncompromising security for legacy and modern systems without compromising operational uptime.