In 2025, the edge has become the new frontier of digital transformation. From industrial robotics and autonomous vehicles to energy grids and smart hospitals, mission-critical operations now depend on distributed, intelligent edge systems.

Yet this shift has created a profound security challenge. Many of these connected devices are agentless — they cannot host traditional security software or be managed through standard IT frameworks. They operate independently, communicate directly with the cloud, and often lack consistent visibility or governance. This leads to significant security concerns, as these devices are prone to vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers if not properly managed.

This “invisible edge” represents one of the most serious risks to enterprise security today. As organizations deploy more edge devices, their attack surface expands, increasing the potential for cyber threats and making comprehensive security strategies essential. But it’s also where AI-powered automation is redefining what’s possible.

With Device Authority, KeyScaler 2025 delivers an intelligent, agentless security model that uses AI to discover, authenticate, and continuously protect every device — even those beyond the reach of traditional endpoint tools. This approach is designed to secure edge devices in accordance with the latest cybersecurity guidelines and best practices.

The Agentless Challenge: A Hidden Risk Across Industries

Agentless devices are everywhere — and growing fast. They include sensors, gateways, cameras, medical equipment, industrial controllers, smart appliances, and routers — often small, embedded, and designed for function, not protection.

Examples include IoT sensors, industrial controllers, smart appliances, and routers, all of which can be vulnerable to cyber threats.

Because they can’t support installed agents or endpoint detection software, they’re easily overlooked. But attackers haven’t overlooked them. Recent breaches have exploited these unmanaged devices as entry points into networks, bypassing conventional defences. Such attacks can lead to device compromise and enable malicious activity within the network.

Common pain points include:

• Lack of visibility across remote or legacy devices.
• Inability to install security agents due to resource or firmware constraints.
• Hard-coded credentials that can’t be updated easily.
• Weak or non-existent certificate management.
• No consistent audit trail for compliance reporting.
• Exposure to threats and attacks specifically targeting these devices.

The result is an expanding blind spot at the intersection of IT, OT, and edge computing.

The Edge Security Gap

Edge computing decentralises data processing — pushing computation closer to where it’s generated. While this improves speed and efficiency, it also decentralises risk. Without centralised control, traditional network perimeters disappear, making identity-based trust the only viable foundation for security.

But manual credential management can’t keep up with dynamic edge environments, where devices may connect or disconnect every few seconds. To achieve real security at the edge, organisations need automation that works without an agent, and intelligence that adapts in real time. Organizations and enterprises must implement robust cybersecurity measures and mitigation strategies to reduce risk at the edge, ensuring that all endpoints and distributed devices are protected against evolving threats.

AI: The Key to Agentless Discovery and Control

Artificial intelligence now provides the visibility and control that traditional tools cannot. KeyScaler 2025 uses AI-driven network analytics and behavioural modelling to detect, classify, and authenticate agentless devices automatically.

Key capabilities include:

• Passive Network Discovery: AI analyses network traffic patterns to identify connected devices — no software agents required.
• Device Fingerprinting: Machine learning models recognise device types, firmware versions, and communication protocols.
• Anomaly Detection: AI continuously monitors behaviour to spot suspicious patterns.
• Policy Automation: Dynamic enforcement ensures every device meets Zero Trust and compliance requirements, including assigning specific functions or actions to devices based on their roles.

Role based access control and user authentication are enforced to ensure only authorized users can interact with critical edge devices.

This agentless intelligence brings full visibility and continuous governance to even the most remote or resource-limited edge assets.

Discover KeyScaler 2025

How KeyScaler 2025 Secures the Agentless Edge

KeyScaler 2025 extends Device Authority’s trusted identity and automation platform to environments where traditional agents can’t operate. It also helps manufacturers and device manufacturers meet security standards by automating compliance with recommended security features and best practices.
It achieves this through a combination of AI, cryptographic trust, and cloud-native automation.

1. AI Discovery Engine: Maps every connected device across IT, OT, and edge networks.
2. Machine Identity Automation: Issues and manages digital certificates for agentless endpoints, ensuring devices are properly configured and not left with default credentials or default security settings.
3. Continuous Risk Scoring: AI evaluates device behaviour and assigns real-time trust levels.
4. Policy Enforcement: Automatically isolates or revokes access for high-risk devices.
5. Compliance Monitoring: Validates devices against standards like NIST, CRA, and ISO/IEC 27001, while following guidance and practices recommended for manufacturers and device manufacturers.

This unified approach delivers Zero Trust for the edge — ensuring every device can be identified, verified, and trusted without manual intervention.

Zero Trust at the Edge

In traditional networks, devices inside the perimeter were often assumed trustworthy. At the edge, that assumption no longer holds.

Zero Trust architecture demands that every device, process, and transaction is continuously authenticated — even those embedded deep in industrial systems or field operations.

KeyScaler 2025 enforces Zero Trust at the edge by:

• Assigning unique, cryptographically verifiable identities to all devices.
• Applying contextual access control based on risk, location, and behaviour.
• Requiring multi factor authentication, implementing strong authentication methods, and enforcing the use of unique passwords to protect access to sensitive data and important data.
• Continuously verifying trust via AI-generated scores.
• Automatically remediating or quarantining compromised devices.

The result: no blind spots, no assumptions, no exceptions.

Learn more about Zero Trust for IoT

Agentless Doesn’t Mean Defenceless

One of the most important insights of the past decade is that agentless devices can still be secured — if identity is automated.
Instead of embedding traditional software, security is enforced through cryptographic trust and network-level control. Securing edge devices is achieved by applying strong encryption to data in transit, ensuring data integrity during all communications between devices and network components.

KeyScaler 2025’s architecture ensures:

• Lightweight operation: No software footprint required on endpoints.
• Scalable integration: Works with existing PKI and Certificate Authorities (CAs).
• Vendor-neutral compatibility: Supports multi-vendor, multi-protocol environments.
• API extensibility: Integrates with SIEM, SOAR, and cloud orchestration platforms.

This allows organisations to secure vast, heterogeneous device networks without reengineering hardware or firmware.

Compliance at the Edge

Regulators are expanding compliance expectations to include edge environments. Frameworks like the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) and Executive Order 14028 demand proof that connected devices maintain secure identities and update integrity throughout their lifecycle.

With KeyScaler 2025:

• Device identities are automatically mapped to compliance requirements.
• AI monitors configuration drift and vulnerability exposure.
• Evidence of control is logged for audit readiness.
• Network defenders leverage forensic features and cloud services to support compliance monitoring and incident investigation across distributed edge devices.

By embedding compliance directly into the edge security workflow, Device Authority transforms it from a cost burden into a continuous operational function.

Read the IoT/OT Compliance Guide

Real-World Applications

Manufacturing and Industrial IoT

Factories rely on thousands of sensors, IoT sensors, PLCs, and robots operating without agents. KeyScaler automates their identification and control, protecting supply chains from ransomware and tampering.

Edge devices in factories often connect local networks to external networks, creating potential pathways for lateral movement by attackers if not properly secured.

Healthcare and Medical IoT

Connected medical devices, such as imaging machines and infusion pumps, must comply with safety and privacy regulations. In healthcare environments, real-time data processing is essential for immediate clinical decision-making and patient safety. Managed service providers play a critical role by supporting secure operation and regulatory compliance for medical IoT devices. KeyScaler ensures each device identity is validated and every data flow encrypted.

Smart Energy and Utilities

Critical national infrastructure demands uptime and resilience. Device Authority’s AI-driven trust model prevents rogue devices from disrupting operations.

Cloud services enable continuous monitoring and management of energy infrastructure, ensuring real-time visibility and rapid response to threats. However, connecting critical infrastructure to the wider internet introduces significant risks, as edge devices become potential entry points for unauthorized access and cyberattacks.

Automotive and Transport

Connected vehicles and roadside systems benefit from continuous trust verification, ensuring secure software updates and preventing unauthorised access.

These systems often connect directly to external networks, which increases their exposure to cyber threats and highlights the need for robust security measures.

Quantifying the Value: Efficiency, Risk, and Compliance

Automation at the edge delivers measurable ROI. With Device Authority’s ROI Calculator, organisations can estimate the value of agentless security by inputting device counts, operational costs, and breach risk probabilities. Businesses benefit from improved edge device security, which helps reduce risk and protect critical operations in commercial environments.

Key benefits include:

• Up to 85% reduction in manual oversight.
• Zero downtime from certificate expiry or configuration errors.
• Continuous compliance validated in real time.
• Predictable cost savings through AI-driven scalability.

Try the ROI Calculator

The Future of Edge Security: Autonomous Trust

Looking ahead, the combination of AI, automation, and decentralised identity technologies will enable self-securing edge ecosystems. Devices will automatically identify themselves, negotiate trust, and enforce policy without central human oversight.

Device Authority is already advancing this vision, developing adaptive frameworks that integrate machine learning, Zero Trust, and blockchain-backed auditability into next-generation KeyScaler deployments.

The goal: a future where every device — agentless or otherwise — participates in an autonomous trust network. Adopting essential security practices will be key to realizing this vision and ensuring robust protection for edge environments.

Conclusion: Visibility, Control, and Trust Without Agents

The rise of edge computing demands a new approach to security — one that doesn’t rely on traditional software agents or manual control.

Through AI, automation, and machine identity management, KeyScaler 2025 delivers the ability to discover, authenticate, and govern every device in real time, from the core to the edge.

Agentless no longer means unprotected. With Device Authority, every connection becomes visible, every transaction trusted, and every operation compliant. The edge is where data meets intelligence — and with AI-powered trust, it’s where security evolves too.