The Cyphers Citadel Architecture
A fortress within a fortress. Seven walls of defense for machine communications. Breach one, the rest hold.
Cyphers Citadel isn't one wall.
It's many.
In medieval warfare, a citadel was the last refuge – a fortress built inside the city walls, designed to hold even after the outer defenses fell. Each wall independent. Each gate reinforced.
Most security architectures have a perimeter. Get past it, and you're in. Cyphers Citadel assumes you will. Every layer operates as if the others have already fallen.
Assume breach.
Every wall is built to hold alone. We design as if attackers are already inside the outer perimeter.
Trust nothing.
No connection is trusted by default. Identity verified. Certificates validated. Permissions checked.
Govern everything.
No configuration drift. No certificate surprises. No invisible traffic.
Seven Walls of Defense
Each wall stands alone. Together, they're unbreachable.
Transport Security
The Outer Wall – Encrypted Passage
The first wall every connection must pass. TLS 1.3 with mutual authentication – both sides prove identity before the gate opens. Weak ciphers turned away. No exceptions.
Technical Specifications
Identity & Access Control
The Gatehouse – Verified Passage
Past the outer wall, every visitor must prove who they are and why they're here. OAuth 2.1 with PKCE-required flows. Scoped permissions. No anonymous passage.
Technical Specifications
Certificate Management
The Armory – Maintained Credentials
Credentials expire. Keys get compromised. The armory keeps every certificate current – automated issuance, rotation, and revocation. No expired passes. No compromised keys.
Technical Specifications
Configuration Governance
The Code – Enforced Standards
A fortress is only as strong as its weakest gate. Cyphers Citadel enforces golden configurations across every component. Deviation triggers immediate alert.
Technical Specifications
Traffic Control
The Checkpoint – Inspected Passage
Not everyone who reaches the gate belongs inside. Traffic control validates every request, enforces rate limits, and blocks abuse before it becomes a breach.
Technical Specifications
Observability
The Watchtower – Complete Visibility
Guards who can't see can't defend. The watchtower provides complete visibility into every connection, every handshake, every certificate status.
Technical Specifications
Compliance
The Archive – Documented Defense
When the auditors arrive, the archive proves every defense is in place. Built for NIAP, FIPS, and industry-specific requirements – not retrofitted.
Technical Specifications
Same walls. Different deployments.
| Wall | TLSMCP | Cyphers HTTPS Node |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Transport | Full mTLS between all agents | TLS 1.3, cipher suite control, mTLS client auth |
| 2. Identity | OAuth 2.1 server with PKCE | Client certificate authentication |
| 3. Certificates | Automated CA with rotation | Pinning, revocation, custom CA bundles |
| 4. Configuration | Golden configs for proxies | Presets (Modern, FIPS, Custom) |
| 5. Traffic | Rate limiting, validation | Connection pooling, request controls |
| 6. Observability | Real-time dashboard | SIEM export (JSON, CEF, Syslog) |
| 7. Compliance | NIAP-aligned architecture | FIPS 140-3 mode |