Basalt: Enforcing OT Architecture as a Contract

Introduction

Great Operational Technology (OT) architecture is not merely a diagram; it is a contract with the plant floor, the auditor, and the next engineer. Basalt is a platform designed to enforce this contract at every level, ensuring that architecture is trusted by operators of critical infrastructure. By treating architecture as code and design as a rigorous process, Basalt eliminates ambiguity and ensures compliance from the start.

Benefits

Basalt enforces six fundamental properties across every layer and review to ensure architectural integrity:

1. Working: The platform renders diagrams in under 30 seconds, providing immediate visual feedback.
2. Compliant: Rules are informed by industry standards including IEC 62443, Purdue models, and ISA-95.
3. Enforced: Illegal topologies are blocked at design time rather than being flagged only during an audit.
4. Ethical: The system requires human sign-off on every change.
5. Auditable: Every clause is cited, and every change diff is signed.
6. Portable: Outputs are available in PNG, SVG, and Basalt DSL formats, ensuring they are re-import ready.

Unlike general-purpose diagramming tools, Basalt utilizes OT-native primitives. Every zone, conduit, and asset within the system knows the specific standard it lives under. This ensures that when users ask, edit, or import elements, the diagram and its underlying rationale remain in lock-step.

Basalt introduces a conversational approach to architecture. Users can prompt the diagram creation process much like they would prompt a colleague. For example, a user can provide a prompt such as "Add a jump host in the IDMZ. Restrict access to L2 engineers only." The system then builds the diagram and simultaneously writes a linked entry in the compliance document, citing the specific clause, rationale, and delta. This approach ensures that the design intent is immediately documented and validated against the relevant standards.

Basalt employs deterministic linting to ensure that zone crossings and network configurations cannot be shipped if they violate safety or security rules. Every generation is checked against Purdue and IEC 62443 rules before rendering. The system provides clear feedback such as OK to confirm the presence of an IDMZ inspection point, WARN to alert if a conduit Service Level is below the zone target, or ERR to block configurations where a dual-homed host bridges Layer 2 and Layer 4, citing specific rule violations.

Basalt supports real vendor icons rather than generic boxes, allowing engineers to speak the language of their specific hardware and cloud environments. Supported vendors include Siemens, Rockwell, Schneider, Cisco, and AWS. With over 1,900 vendor symbols and system requirements coverage, Basalt is ready to support the complex needs of modern OT, network, cloud, and security architectures.

To facilitate seamless audits, Basalt provides versioned PDF and Word exports. These documents include the IEC 62443 rationale attached to every zone and conduit, ensuring that auditors receive a complete picture of the design's compliance status.

Basalt treats the network architecture as code using a tiny, OT-native Domain Specific Language (DSL). Users code the network, and Basalt renders, validates, and cites the relevant clause line-by-line as they type. This approach ensures correctness comes free with the code generation. Every save triggers a check against 14 rules, ensuring continuous compliance.

Use Cases

Basalt enables organizations to ship their architecture, not just the debate surrounding it. By bringing a network or a spec into the platform, users can generate a validated diagram and a compliance document recognized by 62443 auditors in under 30 seconds. The platform supports adherence to major standards including the Purdue Model, IEC 62443-3-3, ISA-95, NIST CSF, and NERC CIP.

Pricing

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Vibes

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Additional Information

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