Security, identity and trust
Zero trust architecture
No implicit trust from network location; each request authenticated, authorised and logged.
We design, integrate and operate.
NIST SP 800-207 · CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model 2.0
/
Protocol & Grid/
FederationSigned exchange across sites, owners and trust domains.
Federation, inside Protocol & Grid: zero trust architecture, workload identity, port-based access and link encryption, transport security and more. Every item is traced to its specification, from NIST SP 800-207 to CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model 2.0, and runs on the open Observatory Protocol.
Plan with usArchitectureThe protocol- Technologies
- 9
- At the frontier
- 0
- Protocol functions
- 5 of 8
- Industries served
- 6
Reference design, drawn to scale · drag to turn · hover a part
01What it is
Zero trust and network security.
How every node proves what it is and what it runs, how links and keys are protected, how software is traced to its source, how personal data is minimised, and how incidents are found and handled. Each technology below carries what it is, what we do with it, and the standard it is drawn against.
Security, identity and trust
Workload identity
Short-lived, attested identities for services and agents rather than static secrets.
We design and integrate.
SPIFFE specification
Security, identity and trust
Port-based access and link encryption
Authenticating devices on wired ports and encrypting Ethernet links.
We design, integrate and deploy.
IEEE 802.1X-2020 · IEEE 802.1AE (MACsec)
Security, identity and trust
Transport security
Modern encrypted transport for APIs, telemetry and constrained links.
We design and integrate.
IETF RFC 8446 (TLS 1.3) · IETF RFC 9147 (DTLS 1.3)
Security, identity and trust
IPsec and site tunnels
Encrypted tunnels between sites, gateways and the NOC.
We design, integrate and operate.
IETF RFC 4301 (IPsec) · IETF RFC 7296 (IKEv2)
Security, identity and trust
Zones, conduits and segmentation
Grouping assets by risk and controlling every flow between groups.
We design, integrate and operate.
IEC 62443-3-2 (risk assessment, zones and conduits)
Security, identity and trust
GNSS interference and spoofing resilience
Detecting jamming and spoofing and holding time and position during outages.
We design, integrate and operate.
US DHS Resilient PNT Conformance Framework · Galileo Open Service Navigation Message Authentication
Security, identity and trust
Certificate profiles
X.509 certificate and revocation list profiles used across devices and services.
We design.
IETF RFC 5280
Security, identity and trust
Automated certificate enrolment
Issuing and renewing device and service certificates without manual steps.
We design, integrate and operate.
IETF RFC 7030 (EST) · IETF RFC 8555 (ACME) · IETF RFC 9483 (lightweight CMP profile)
02Architecture
Where it sits, and what it speaks.
Federation draws on 1 domain and 8 layers of the spectrum; the highlighted layers carry this area. It speaks 5 of the protocol’s 8 core functions.
Device identity and attestation
8
PKI, secure boot and updates
7
Zero trust and network security
7
5G and wireless security
6
OT security and software supply chain
9
Privacy and data protection
7
Keys, cryptography and post-quantum migration
9
Monitoring, incident response and governance
8
01JoinIdentity, attestation quote, signed policy.
02AdmitAdmitted for a stated scope, nothing wider.
03DescribeWhat, where, how and by whom, with calibration.
04TimeOne clock across the grid, with its error bound.
05ObserveEvery value with quality and provenance.
06QualifyTested against the specification, state on record.
07FederateSigned exchange across grids and trust domains.
08OrchestrateSoftware and configuration by signed plan.
03On the grid
Every site joins one observing grid.
The open networks on the grid today, over real relief and the geodesic cells we count them into. A site built here enrols into the same grid.
04In the field
Where this runs, sector by sector.
6 deployment scenarios from the sector research that rely on federation.
Government and public safetyNational GBON surface and upper-air network
WMO-grade stations reporting through WIS 2.0, funded through the systematic-observations financing pathway.Government and public safetyWildfire camera network and fire-weather stations
Camera towers with edge inference and co-located fire-weather stations, utility- or agency-funded.Government and public safetyUrban street-flood sensor network
Open-hardware depth sensors with open data and alerts to emergency management.CitiesHybrid air-quality network
Reference analysers plus calibrated low-cost nodes; low-cost sensors alone do not meet regulatory requirements.Communities and ruralRemote microgrid, sensing and connectivity bundle
Solar-plus-storage telemetry with a weather station and a small cell in a diesel-reduction project.Communities and ruralInterim public-safety broadband where no national network exists
Private LTE or 5G for fire and medical services in territories without a national public-safety network.05Open and enterprise
Open by default. Enterprise by contract.
The open counterpart lives on the main site for anyone to read and run. The enterprise service is designed, deployed and operated with you, under contract.
Open, on the main site
- Protocol specification
- State machines and node roles
- Conformance tool
- Device class catalogue
Enterprise, on this site
- Private grid design and operation
- Federation agreements
- Provider qualification testing
- Works-with programme
06The rest of the line
Protocol & Grid, area by area.
Protocol & GridPrivate grids
Your nodes, your authority, the open specification.Protocol & GridQualification
Devices and releases tested against the protocol, state on record.Protocol & GridProvider admission
Manifest, rights and security review, then admitted for scope.Protocol & GridOrchestration
Software and configuration by signed plan, with rollback.Bring us the site.
Survey, design, deployment and operation for federation. The form names who receives your details.
Talk to uscontact@observatory.global