Securing critical infrastructure with new OT firewall
Open Systems, a provider of managed SASE solutions, makes firewall services available for the Operational Technology (OT) domain . This OT firewall operates at the center of OT networks, increasing visibility and control over IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) traffic. In this way, enterprises are able to detect and remediate malicious operations faster, according to the company.
Many manufacturing companies are turning to the Internet of Things (IoT) as part of their digitalization and Industry 4.0 strategies. However, the increasing interconnection of OT and IoT devices with IT networks increases the risk of cyberattacks and security breaches in their OT environments. Also due to the increasing number of hacker attacks on critical infrastructure, a robust OT security strategy is no longer optional but mandatory and must be a top priority for enterprises.
OT firewall as a ring of defense in production
This serious threat situation especially increases the need for a firewall that not only protects the IT environment, but also puts a ring of defense around the Operational Technology in manufacturing plants. Open Systems' OT Firewall is now designed to provide companies with complete visibility and control over network communications within their critical infrastructure. To ensure this, it includes features for segmenting the network and setting up dynamic IP groups, among other things. According to the manufacturer, the OT firewall is particularly suitable for companies with multiple locations due to its architecture, which provides for different security and trust zones. In this way, manufacturing companies are not only able to control and regulate communications between their software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) and the Internet. They can also protect certain zones from internal threats, such as hackers gaining access to a security zone.
Round-the-clock support
The Open Systems OT Firewall also includes round-the-clock technical support from the managed SASE solutions provider's team of experts. It helps users successfully implement meaningful network segmentation across the OT Firewall, which they can then easily manage through policies. "Few organizations have complete visibility into their OT environments. While many can identify threats as soon as data leaves a factory for the Internet, by then it may be too late," warns Stefan Keller, chief product officer at Open Systems. "Companies therefore need to bring transparency to their operational technology environments. With the Open Systems OT Firewall, we offer them central functions of a network security monitoring system: from traffic monitoring and threat detection to their mitigation via network isolation." "The demand for information from production, for example through sensor data, is increasing visibly, which is why a secure OT environment is crucial," adds Dirk Theissen, Enterprise IT Security Architect at GEA, an early adopter of the OT Firewall. "By implementing Open Systems OT Firewall, we have the security we need as a 24×7 service. We appreciate the trusted partnership with Open Systems in securing critical infrastructure."
Source and further information: https://www.open-systems.com/sase/ot-firewall
