Multi-Vector Adversarial Testing of an AI-Orchestrated Zero Trust Methodology on Constrained Edge Hardware

This paper is the empirical validation companion to our prior methodology paper introducing the Automated Zero Trust Risk Management with DevSecOps Integration (AZTRM-D) methodology, conducted through multi-vector adversarial testing on physical NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano hardware. AZTRM-D unifies DevSecOps automation, the NIST Risk Management Framework, and Zero Trust architecture with AI orchestration via Cybectr Sentinel, featuring six AI subsystems with formal specifications. Testing spanned three progressive hardening stages across seven attack categories under a blind three-tester protocol with inter-rater agreement analysis. Factory-default devices were fully compromised in under five minutes. After full hardening, zero successful breaches were recorded across any tested vector. The CI/CD pipeline achieved a vulnerability detection rate of 96.8% (Wilson 95% CI: [0.891, 0.991]). Sentinel delivered 94.1% precision, 91.8% recall, and 4.2 min average detection time within 12–18% CPU overhead on edge hardware. A 14-capability comparative analysis against five established frameworks found seven capabilities unique to AZTRM-D. The 93.7% adversarial detection rate is reported against DiCE-generated counterfactual inputs and is bounded by the black-box threat model used in evaluation; gradient-based white-box attack evaluation is documented as a scoped Stage 4 future-work item. All three testers are affiliated with Cybectr LLC, the developer of AZTRM-D and Cybectr Sentinel; this conflict of interest is the most significant limitation of the present work, and independent third-party laboratory validation is the highest-priority Stage 4 deliverable.