Operational Technology Artificial Intelligence - NIST Compliance Tool (OTAI-NCT)

We propose the Operational Technology (OT) Artificial Intelligence (AI) - NIST Compliance Tool (OTAI-NCT), an innovative solution for continually evaluating the cyber-hygiene of software and hardware manufacturers, offered as a self-funding public service. OTAI-NCT fosters greater transparency in the procurement process, educates buyers on product security, and empowers them to make more informed purchasing decisions. By promoting clear, accessible information on manufacturer security practices, OTAI-NCT incentivizes manufacturers not only to meet security compliance requirements but to proactively design and deliver secure products. The proposed solution addresses critical gaps in market incentives, encouraging broader adoption of secure software development lifecycle (SDLC) practices across the technology industry. OTAI-NCT introduces a novel vendor cyber-hygiene scoring system, leveraging authoritative data sources such as the National Vulnerability Database (NVD), CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, and other publicly available datasets. Combined with advanced data science techniques, this scoring model delivers a statistically grounded, continuously updated assessment of manufacturer security posture—helping to safeguard national security and public safety in an increasingly manufacturer-dependent technology landscape.