Cybersecurity isn’t just growing—spend and complexity are rising fast, and OT teams are being asked to do more with the same (or fewer) resources. In this episode of the Energy Tech Podcast (presented by OpSite Energy), Jeff and Mike Flores continue the Neeve series with Bill Bane and Jerry Reeves, focusing on what OT security needs going into 2026.

We break down why SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) and Zero Trust are shifting from enterprise IT into OT operations—and why the old model of cobbling together tools around the Purdue model is getting replaced by foundational security.

You’ll hear practical discussion on:

- Continuous updates as a core requirement of SASE

- Edge security catching up to edge compute

- Encrypted operating systems, secure boot, TPM concepts

- Certificate-based trust (X.509) and encrypted sessions

- SSO + MFA + least privilege as identity-first controls

- Cloud agility + multi-cloud connectivity without forcing data through a vendor cloud

- Where real cost reduction shows up: fewer agents/tools, lower labor, less sprawl, and better bandwidth efficiency

- Why AI-ready data starts with secure, unified access and clean architecture

This is episode 2 of a series: drop your toughest OT security questions in the comments and we’ll hit them in the next installment.

Guests: Bill Bane & Jerry Reeves (Neeve)

Hosts: Jeff + Mike Flores (Energy Tech Podcast / OpSite Energy)

0:00 Intro — Future of industrial automation operations (Neeve series)

0:35 Live from OpSite Energy Control Center (Canonsburg, PA)

1:02 Why cybersecurity spend is rising + 2026 drivers (AI, cloud-native, identity)

2:06 Why OT cybersecurity matters going into 2026

2:20 SASE recap: enterprise IT security brought into OT

3:16 Security becomes foundational (no “bolt-on” protections)

3:29 SASE requires continuous updates + continuous scrutiny

4:14 The 4 pillars: security, edge compute, encrypted data, cost reduction

5:12 Series recap + why this episode leans into cyber

5:50 Edge-to-cloud OT ecosystem overview

6:01 “Walled-off” operational plane + invisible from the internet

6:21 Unified platform = efficiency + security

7:13 Flip the ratio: less time worrying about cyber, more time on ops

7:39 “Walk-around” qualifications + why validation matters

8:05 Fighter pilot analogy + “walk-around” checklist

8:26 Battle-tested + certifications/compliance claims

9:15 Foundational = reduced human error

9:35 Hardened OS + edge security catching up to edge compute

11:16 Industrial edge node + outbound 443 + encrypted OS + TPM + secure boot

12:23 Why edge nodes are now critical infrastructure

13:14 “Secure tunnel” isn’t VPN—session security + encrypted traffic

13:45 AES-256 + certificate-based trust (X.509)

14:28 Bidirectional management for orchestration + updates

15:50 Remote access still matters, but security is primary

16:15 Zero Trust + SSO + MFA; eliminating VPN agent sprawl

17:13 Data lineage approach (edge → access → cloud)

17:40 Optional managed hosting (e.g., SCADA), data goes where you want

18:05 Cloud agility + multi-cloud + OT mesh vs hub-and-spoke

19:13 Data doesn’t have to go through the vendor cloud

19:38 “Pay-cloud” example (fleet compression) + data ownership

21:33 Cost reduction discussion starts

22:14 Where savings show up: VPN agents, insurance, labor, fewer tools

23:57 Cutting cloud data engineering costs (contextualize earlier)

25:17 Edge compute reduces bandwidth + ongoing upkeep

26:16 Data + power efficiency benefits

27:52 Vendor sprawl + field hardware sprawl (Palo Alto example)

30:11 Real-world savings example (7-figure annual reduction claim)

31:22 “Top 3 things” for OT leaders bridging IT/OT

32:43 Continuous updates explained (dynamic vs static)

34:49 Security through simplicity + orchestration via familiar UI

38:41 AI-ready data + Neeve.ai + agent discussion

44:48 Wrap-up + like/subscribe + next episode

Music: Uygar Duzgun / “Fast Life” / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com