Private 5G and Cisco ISE: Intelligent infrastructure needs intelligent security

Across industries, CIOs are being asked to build a new generation of intelligent infrastructure. Airports are using AI to manage passenger flows. Manufacturers are connecting production lines, robots and inspection systems in real time. Utilities are modernizing their critical infrastructure with thousands of connected sensors, while cities the world over are deploying cameras, environmental monitors and digital public services to improve how they operate.

Finding new AI use cases isn’t the problem. The challenge is that much of the underlying infrastructure was designed long before organizations had to support autonomous systems, edge computing and thousands of connected devices operating beyond the traditional enterprise network.

As AI moves into the physical world, every new camera, sensor, robot and connected asset increases the complexity of securely managing who and what can access the network. Without consistent identity and access control, intelligent infrastructure becomes difficult to scale and trust.

The City of Brownsville, Texas, offers an instructive example of how to get this right. With NTT DATA’s assistance, the city deployed smart technology but also built an operational and security foundation that gave its technology teams the confidence to scale new services without losing control of the network.

Smart infrastructure is just the start

We helped transform Brownsville into a smart city powered by a private 5G network that now connects a growing ecosystem of endpoints across the city.

Cameras feed into AI platforms to support use cases such as license-plate recognition and occupancy tracking in public spaces. City departments, ranging from traffic management to law enforcement, use these insights to make faster and more informed decisions.

The network also supports public Wi-Fi in parks, helping to bridge a persistent digital divide in the city, and connects tablets and mobile devices used by city workers in the field to support real-time communication and operations.

Brownsville illustrates what intelligent infrastructure increasingly looks like across industries: highly connected, data-driven and built around diverse endpoints supporting many different operational use cases. But bringing all of that technology together also creates a new kind of challenge.

• ALSO READ → Smart cities, better living: The private 5G revolution is here

The security challenge beneath the surface

Every new device linked to a network adds to the complexity involved in securing and managing access to that network. From cameras, routers and handheld devices to AI-integrated systems, they all require access control and policy enforcement.

However, different device types follow different access-control policies and rules. So, without a unified approach, any attempt at security quickly becomes fragmented and visibility remains limited.

In a big town or city, that leaves authorities exposed and the network vulnerable to security risks.

But this isn’t only a smart-city challenge. CIOs in manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, logistics and critical infrastructure face exactly the same problem as the connected environments they manage keep expanding. The technology itself is rarely the limiting factor, but operating it securely at scale is.

Extending security policy to the edge

Brownsville already had an advantage: they were running a Cisco-based environment. That meant they had Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) in place, a centralized policy engine designed to control how users and devices gain access to their existing network.

The next step was to extend that control into their private 5G environment.

NTT DATA integrated Cisco ISE directly with the city’s 5G network so that every connected device — whether a camera in a park or a tablet in a patrol vehicle — now authenticates through one centralized system.

Think of it as an umbrella policy model. Network access rules are defined once and applied consistently across the entire infrastructure, regardless of device type or connection point, to transform a collection of diverse connected technologies into a well-governed system.

The impact of this integration is straightforward but significant:

• Greater consistency: Every endpoint follows the same authentication and access policies, which eliminates gaps between systems.
• Improved visibility: The city can see what’s on their networks, how their device endpoints are behaving and whether it complies with policy.
• Less operational risk: Instead of managing security device by device, the city enforces it centrally. Plus, unauthorized devices are prevented from accessing the network.

Resilient systems in the real world

The value of this approach becomes clear under pressure. For example, Brownsville hosts the annual Charro Days festival that attracts around 150,000 visitors, many crossing the US–Mexico border to attend. During this massive event, public cellular networks often become badly congested.

However, the city’s operations are no longer affected in the same way. Because their systems run on a private 5G network, they remain available even when commercial networks fail. Staff can communicate, systems stay online and critical functions continue without interruption.

While the connectivity alone enables that resilience, the integration with centralized security policy makes it sustainable. No matter the network load, access remains controlled and trusted.

A blueprint for every connected organization

Brownsville demonstrates how we can extend Cisco ISE into a private 5G environment, but the broader lesson extends far beyond smart cities.

Many organizations already rely on Cisco ISE to govern enterprise networks. As they introduce private 5G into factories, airports, hospitals, logistics hubs or utility networks, it’s natural to worry about creating a separate environment with different security policies.

Brownsville proves that doesn’t have to happen.

The integration of Cisco ISE with private 5G means they can extend their existing identity and access policies into entirely new connectivity layers without rebuilding their security architecture.

Why CIOs should pay attention

For CIOs, this story isn’t really about private 5G or smart cities but rather about how intelligent infrastructure is changing enterprise operations.

Every industry is adding connected assets, AI-powered systems and edge computing. As those environments grow, success will depend on how confidently organizations can govern all the devices they are deploying.

Brownsville shows that connectivity, security and operations don’t need to evolve separately. When they’re designed as one system, organizations gain the confidence to scale intelligently and maintain control as their infrastructure becomes increasingly autonomous.

• ALSO READ → Digital infrastructure meets human design: How physical AI transforms cities

This article includes contributions by Anand Virani, Product Management Global Lead, NTT Edge.