Join Mark Smith on the Empirical Energy Podcast as he explores the cutting-edge world of blockchain-powered zero trust networking with Hans Rempel, founder of Diode. In this deep-dive episode, discover how blockchain technology is revolutionizing industrial cybersecurity and secure communications for critical infrastructure.

Short Description: Hans Rempel from Diode explains how blockchain technology transforms traditional VPN limitations into provably secure, permissionless communication networks for industrial facilities and IoT devices.

Tune in for insights on:

• Blockchain-anchored network definitions and access control

• Zero trust networking vs traditional VPN security models

• Permissionless secure communications for industrial IoT

• Mathematical ownership of network access control lists

• Self-custody security models inspired by cryptocurrency principles

• Provable data provenance for critical infrastructure

• Autonomous AI agent network provisioning challenges

• Clean Connect architecture optimization with Diode integration

Key Takeaways:

• Traditional VPNs require opening firewall ports and complex multi-system configuration management

• Zero trust networking uses bridging servers but introduces new vendor trust dependencies

• Blockchain eliminates man-in-the-middle attacks by putting access control lists on immutable ledgers

• Self-custody network definitions give facility owners mathematical control over their security

• Permissionless networks allow adding trusted nodes without vendor dependency

• Autonomous AI agents will require automated network provisioning at scale

• Provable data provenance enables complete audit trails from sensor to final energy attribution

Chapters:

00:00 - Intro

01:30 - Hans Rempel Background and Diode Company Origins

04:15 - Internet of Things vs Secure Inbound Communications

06:45 - Traditional VPN Limitations and Security Challenges

09:20 - Zero Trust Networking and Bridging Server Concepts

11:40 - Blockchain Integration for Provably Secure Networks

14:25 - Self-Custody Security Models and Mathematical Ownership

17:10 - Clean Connect Architecture Analysis and Diode Implementation

20:35 - Permissionless Network Nodes and IP Address Control

22:50 - Future of Autonomous AI Agents and Network Automation

24:15 – Outro

Quote of the Show: "We want to give the owner the facility owner or Clean Connect, we want to give you mathematical ownership of that access control list."

Don't forget to subscribe to the Empirical Energy Podcast for more insights into the intersection of energy, AI, and blockchain technology. Like this episode if you found Hans's explanation of blockchain zero trust networking valuable, and share it with anyone working in industrial cybersecurity or critical infrastructure protection.

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