The urgent demand for operational technology (OT) cybersecurity
Today with most industrial equipment and devices connected to the internet and the development of the Internet of Things (IoT), it becomes more convenient for operators to monitor the entire industrial control system (ICS). But as we optimize the industrial process with cloud services and data, the connection also leaves doors open for hackers or ransomware to breach the traditionally OT systems and cause malfunction and financial loss or jeopardize the operation and valuable data. Last year, the well-known Colonial Pipeline ransom attack even brought trouble to the public.
According to Cybersecurity Ventures, the global cybercrime cost is expected to grow by 15 percent per year over the next five years, reaching $10.5 trillion USD annually by 2025. Plus, in 2021, the cyberattacks on corporate networks have increased by 50%. In this case, small and medium corporates become targets due to a lack of resources and security expertise. Therefore, Axiomtek is aimed to lead the market in providing reliable cybersecurity gateways exclusively for OT cybersecurity.
Laying the foundations for cybersecurity with the right gateway
In the OT networks, the threats come from both the internet connections and insider threats like USB drives plugged in. Once the virus is in the networks, the devices even systems will face the risk of being held to ransom or manipulated.
To secure the whole networks, we have to divide OT networks from information technology (IT) environment; and in the OT networks, we also need numerous cybersecurity gateways among different sections like from field devices to programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and distributed control systems (DCS) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) to create the segmentation to accomplish the highest security level as possible.
By implementing network segmentation and segregation, the cybersecurity gateways can set up firewalls for multiple networks to identify breaches and filter the traffic of data and abnormal packet to block potential threats. The high-performance gateways should be able to operate with security software to perform unified threats management (UTM). Once the networks are partitioned into smaller isolated networks, even the threats intrude, the jeopardy will be minimized and not go further to other networks.
All in all, competent gateways allow approved communications by access authentication and authorization between different networks. With complete access governance, web isolation, and threat detection, we can ensure security inside the networks for crucial assets and be clear of cluster infection.
Axiomtek presents iNA100, the gateway exclusively designed for OT cybersecurity
Axiomtek’s iNA gateway products are the favorites of cybersecurity software developers and solution providers. Compared with ordinary network appliances, the industrial-grade iNA gateways are more applicable and durable in various harsh industrial environments with DIN-Rail, fanless, and a wide temperature range design and have a variety of I/O to satisfy the cyber security demand for the Internet of Things (IoT) in the industry.
To provide more capable products in this niche market, Axiomtek releases the new iNA100, which is powered by the Intel Atom® x5-E3930/E3940 processor (code name: Apollo Lake) for low power consumption and high processing performance. The iNA100 allows customers to utilize it as a media to construct next-generation firewall (NGFW) for various functions like intrusion detection and prevention (IDP), network access control (NAC) and Deep packet inspection (DPI). The DPI can detect abnormal cyber behavior and analyze packets within OPC-UA to provide complete security.
The iNA100 has outstanding connectivity for comprehensive security among networks; it provides four GbE LAN ports for multiple network functions and one pair of LAN bypass is built-in to prevent a single point of failure and traffic overloading. With optional modules, the iNA100 can further support Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G/LTE. What’s more, it supports Trusted Platform Module 2.0 (TPM 2.0) to securely store critical data. In addition, it supports both Linux and Windows operating systems. More I/O features include two COM ports, two USB 3.0 ports, one HDMI port.
Its compact form factor and DIN-rail design make it easy to embed into existing OT network infrastructure and single-sided I/O interfaces allow for easy access and maintenance. The operating temperature range is -20°C to 60°C and it offers a 12V DC terminal block power input, making it suitable for various applications no matter it is a refinery or the iron and steel industry.
