Beyond Secure by Design: Is Networkless Connectivity the Future of Industrial Cybersecurity?

Beyond Secure by Design: Is Networkless Connectivity the Future of Industrial Cybersecurity?

As industrial organizations accelerate digital transformation, long-standing network assumptions are being challenged — and, in some cases, abandoned altogether. A growing number of experts are raising a provocative idea: that the traditional network  model itself is the core cybersecurity risk in connected OT and IoT environments.

This concept emerged during a recent conversation with Galeal Zino, Founder & CEO of NetFoundry, who framed the issue this way:

“The network was never built for security. It was built for connectivity. And today, that’s exactly the problem.”

Zino’s perspective highlights an emerging architectural shift that goes beyond secure-by-design or Zero Trust strategies. At its core is the idea of networkless connectivity — replacing traditional infrastructure-bound networking with identity-driven, software-based access models.

Why the Traditional Network Model Is Under Scrutiny

Many OT environments still rely on perimeter defense models, firewalls, VLANs, air gaps, and VPNs, to maintain control and separation. But these approaches face growing limitations in an industrial landscape that’s increasingly:

• Distributed across remote facilities and assets
• Dependent on cloud-based analytics and AI
• Integrating IT and OT systems with diverse protocols and priorities

The challenge isn’t only about new threats; it’s also about growing complexity. As Zino pointed out, securing legacy networks often requires stitching together layers of segmentation, encryption, and manual configuration — all built on top of the infrastructure that was never designed for modern cybersecurity requirements.

Rethinking Connectivity: From Underlay to Overlay

The proposed alternative is a software-defined, identity-centric overlay — what some are calling “networkless” connectivity. In this model, devices, applications, and workloads don’t rely on network-level trust at all. Instead, connectivity happens over encrypted overlays, where access is based on application-level identity, not IP addresses or firewall rules.

From a deployment perspective, this could mean:

• Micro-segmentation implemented via policy, not VLANs
• OT-IT convergence that avoids direct access to underlying networks
• On-prem or even air-gapped environments using local software-defined overlays

This approach aims to eliminate the need for managing and securing underlay infrastructure, allowing organizations to scale secure access without expanding the attack surface.

Implications for Industrial Use Cases

While the concept is still evolving, several practical applications are already being tested in industrial contexts:

• Manufacturing environments are using software overlays to micro-segment shop floor assets — including legacy PLCs and edge devices — without reengineering the physical network.
• Critical infrastructure operators are exploring software-defined connectivity in air-gapped systems to support uptime, telemetry, and secure remote access without relying on firewalls or inbound VPNs.
• OEMs and equipment vendors are beginning to embed secure connectivity directly into products, enabling “plug-and-operate” security without complex integration efforts.

These scenarios raise important questions for plant managers, cybersecurity leaders, and solution architects:

• How much of your current security model depends on infrastructure-level control?
• Could your organization benefit from a model where security is decoupled from the network itself?

Looking Ahead: Is “Networkless” a Trend or a Transformation?

The idea of removing the network as a security dependency may seem radical, but it reflects a larger shift toward identity-driven, software-defined infrastructure across the industrial sector.

As AI-driven systems, digital twins, and remote monitoring become the norm, the demand for scalable, flexible, and inherently secure connectivity will continue to grow. Whether or not networkless architectures become standard practice remains to be seen, but they are clearly beginning to shape how organizations think about OT security at scale.

IIoT World will continue to follow this emerging space. If you have real-world use cases, success stories, or counterpoints to this architectural approach, we invite you to share them with our editorial team.

About the author

This article was written by Greg Orloff, Industry Executive, IIoT World. Greg previously served as the CEO of Tangent Company, inventor of the Watercycle™, the only commercial residential direct potable reuse system in the country.