Quite a few Ethernet networks in technical environments are built from IT components that are unmanaged. This is a security risk of which one must be aware!

While administrators of conventional IT in corporate offices and in public and semi-public networks have always had a special eye on security ("Security"), operators of technical environments (technicians, engineers) often only give high priority to security ("Safety") in relation to OT (Operational Technology).

They think: "In my network everything is self-sufficient and self-contained, what could happen? At first nothing, the network runs day after day and night after night! But when, after 2 or 3 years, the temperature control in the cold storage room "suddenly" and almost certainly fails at the weekend, or the barriers in the car park fail, you ask yourself as the responsible operator: Is it just a defective power supply unit or is it really a cyber attack or did our colleague Mr. X play a nasty last trick on us before he left the company?

For a "secure network" you need an manageable infrastructure, it needs "managed" switches. With their parameterisable functions, managed switches ensure exclusively authorised access to the network, monitor the smooth exchange of data between the connected components and - especially important! - in the event of an anomaly or deviation, they also actively report these events to higher-level systems or responsible parties.

Often the additional costs are avoided, "managed" switches are more expensive than unmanaged switches. And nevertheless, you should consider whether this investment is not worthwhile, because almost certainly the costs of a single case of damage considerably exceed the additional acquisition costs.

Our manageable switches from the manufacturer Planet offer all the security, monitoring and diagnostic functions that are necessary and desirable in an industrial network. As a manufacturer of both conventional and industrial network components, both product ranges mutually benefit from each other and so, for example, the price difference between conventional and industrial variants is not that great with our Planet switches.

Start small! Just replace the "small, unmanaged" 8-port Gigabit switch (IGS-801T) in your network with its "big, manageable" brother (IGS-801M) and take a live look "into" your network via the web interface. You will be amazed at the information that comes to light.

IT security requires active measures!