Implementation hurdles: Sunil Varkey, advisor at Beagle Security, warns of implementation complexities. “The operational reality of removing legacy systems is not straightforward,” Varkey said. “Legacy devices continue to exist not by design, but by necessity.”He pointed to orphaned systems that remain live and embedded in workflows but lack clear ownership, and operational technology environments where newer hardware or software versions are not available, compatible, or certified. The process requires asset discovery, risk assessment, procurement, configuration redesign, data migration, testing, and managed cutovers to avoid service disruption.”A common challenge will be the presence of ‘orphaned’ or ‘ghost’ systems, devices that are live, embedded in workflows, but no longer clearly owned,” Varkey said. “These systems often persist because ‘they’ve always worked,’ even when no one fully understands their function.”
Private sector implications: While the directive applies only to federal civilian agencies, CISA strongly encourages private sector organizations to adopt similar measures. The exploitation campaigns targeting federal networks pose equivalent risks to critical infrastructure and commercial enterprises.Nagumanthri recommended that organizations treat edge and cyber-physical systems as Tier-0 assets, enforce strong authentication, implement network segmentation, require vendor-supported firmware updates, and centralize logging to limit blast radius. For the private sector, he advocated structured lifecycle management with secure-by-design hardware, continuous monitoring, and controlled updates with rollback capabilities.Varkey saw the directive as a catalyst for modernization beyond compliance. “While the short-term impact will be challenging, the outcome is a more secure, accountable, and defensible infrastructure, one better aligned with today’s threat realities and tomorrow’s operational needs.”
First seen on csoonline.com
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