Critical infrastructure operators want more visibility from the field, safer use of AI and faster remote response — without opening their OT networks or losing control of operational data. This briefing shows how XQ secures the data itself, from the PLC to the cloud, so operational intelligence can be trusted and shared.
What critical infrastructure leaders are asking
- Can I trust more sensors? Broader field visibility shouldn’t require OT-grade architecture everywhere. Lower-cost observational sensors are only useful if their data can be trusted.
- Can I prove what happened? Wildfire, physical-security and incident data carries real liability value — and video or sensor evidence is worth far more when its integrity and chain of custody can be shown.
- Can I share without opening OT? Operators rely on third-party service organizations. Data-level policy lets you share only the information needed for remote diagnosis or response.
- Can AI trust its inputs? As compute moves to the edge, analytics and AI need confidence that the sensor data feeding them hasn’t been altered or substituted.
The challenge has moved from the network to the data
Securing the OT network is no longer enough. Every machine, PLC, sensor, application, database, data lake and AI interaction now produces data that travels beyond the plant floor. Operators face four pressures at once:
- Vulnerable perimeters — OT and IoT data spread across increasingly distributed assets.
- Operational waste — costly site visits, contractor dispatches and manual diagnostics.
- AI risk — using AI without exposing proprietary operational data.
- Regulatory friction — modernizing infrastructure while meeting cybersecurity and compliance mandates.
How XQ protects operational data
XQ applies Zero Trust protection to every piece of operational data, independent of where it travels, so Industry 4.0, industrial IoT and AI can run without giving up control:
- Persistent protection — end-to-end encryption in transit and at rest, across the edge, databases and data lakes, with policy enforced at the data level.
- AI data loss prevention — prompts, queries and AI-generated outputs are scanned so real-time AI decisions don’t leak sensitive data.
- Cryptographic protection independent of network location — operational data stays protected wherever it goes, including to third parties.
Object-level precision defense
Every data object — a reading, a video clip, a file, a record — carries its own controls, bound to it by encryption:
- Labels and categorization
- An individual encryption key
- Attribute-based access on the data
- Attribute-based access from your identity provider
- Role-based access
- Geography-based access
- Chain of custody
- Remote data control, including revocation
Data is not a byproduct of Zero Trust — it is a primary control surface. That makes XQ a data-centric, cost-effective alternative to traditional DLP for operational environments.
Compliance built into the architecture
The same architecture repeats across sites: plug it in, apply policy, generate evidence and scale. It supports:
| Framework | How XQ helps |
|---|---|
| Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) | Secure-by-design protection for connected industrial products and their data. |
| IEC 62443 | Data-level protection and governance that complements industrial automation cybersecurity. |
| NIST and Zero Trust (including NIST SP 800-82) | Least privilege, continuous verification, policy enforcement and data protection. |
| CIS Controls v8 / v8.1 | Foundational controls for asset, access, data and security management. |
Where it applies
- Factory automation — securing control cabinets and automated lines for seamless IT/OT convergence, including with industrial gateways such as Phoenix Contact PLCnext.
- Distributed infrastructure — protecting data across renewable energy, process industries and traffic systems.
- Regulated environments — meeting NIST and CRA mandates while ingesting operational data securely into the cloud.
Learn more about IT/OT industrial security with XQ and the XQ Secure Gateway for data in motion.