There’s extra to our industrial routers than meets the attention. Many find out about our ruggedized design and modular capabilities, however few know these routers have been residing double lives, with superior safety features built-in and tailor-made to numerous use-cases.
Why is that this necessary?
Whether or not your aim is to scale back railway delays, strengthen energy grid stability, enhance highway security with Clever Transportation Programs (ITS), or gather knowledge from wind generators to optimize restore schedules, you face a typical problem: connecting extra operational know-how (OT) property will enhance cybersecurity dangers.
Let’s focus on tips on how to enhance cybersecurity on the industrial edge—resembling in utility substations, transportation intersections, and oil & gasoline pipelines—while not having additional {hardware}. That is particularly necessary as cyberattacks turn out to be extra superior and authorities laws (like NERC CIP, NIS2, and TSA mandates) require stronger safety compliance.
On the identical time, prospects stay CAPEX-sensitive, in search of options that ship each connectivity and safety with out including price and complexity. A router with superior firewall capabilities helps keep away from the fee and complexity of including a second system that must be managed.
Some distributors can’t present superior firewall options of their routers. Cisco industrial routers, nevertheless, have these superior firewalls options built-in NOT bolted on.
Router vs. Firewalls: Why Each Matter
Industrial routers are designed to supply dependable connectivity and protocol translation in harsh, mission-critical environments. They guarantee uptime, redundancy, and safe communications throughout distributed websites.
Nevertheless, routing capabilities alone don’t defend in opposition to as we speak’s superior safety threats. That’s the place Industrial superior firewall capabilities are available in, delivering:
- Software conscious insurance policies
- Intrusion Prevention (IPS/IDS)
- Superior Malware Safety (AMP)
- Encrypted Visitors Inspection
- Identification-Primarily based Entry Insurance policies
- Segmentation and isolation
The problem for industrial prospects has been needing each rugged connectivity and enterprise-grade cybersecurity and resilient connectivity. Cisco solves this by embedding superior firewall and safety features straight into its industrial routing platforms.
Cisco IRs mix resilience, modularity, and safety into one platform—decreasing price and complexity whereas enhancing cyber protection for a mess of commercial use-cases.
Superior safety capabilities by industrial use-case and figuring out the suitable Cisco industrial router
Totally different industries face varied safety threats. Cisco Industrial Routers are designed to handle these particular challenges primarily based on every use case, quite than utilizing a one-size-fits-all method. This implies there’s an industrial router tailor-made for nearly each situation, serving to safe prospects’ industrial networks and defend their crucial property. Let’s have a look at simply SOME of the crucial use-cases that these industrial routers handle
IR1101: “The enforcer” that protects crucial transportation techniques from cybersecurity threats
Clever Visitors Administration techniques resembling sign management, sensible parking, and automobile detection techniques depend upon dependable and safe communication between sensors and controllers situated in roadside visitors cupboards and purposes operating in centralized command facilities. These techniques are crucial for guaranteeing easy visitors circulation, public security, and environment friendly transport operations. If any element—resembling a roadside controller or cupboard sensor—have been to be affected by a cyberattack or a rogue system, it might result in sign outages, visitors congestion, or unsafe driving circumstances, straight impacting metropolis operations and public security. To mitigate these dangers, the community should be locked all the way down to trusted property, guaranteeing that solely approved units and purposes can talk on the distant web site and to the management heart.
The IR1101 offers important safety service for monitoring and communication protocols—resembling NTCIP and Modbus which can be sometimes deployed at a roadway intersection. The Cisco IR1101 Rugged Router, with its built-in application-aware firewall, performs a key function in guaranteeing safe and environment friendly community operations.
IR1101: “The enforcer” that protects the distribution automation system for the utility grid
The problem:
Utility distribution automation techniques face rising cybersecurity challenges as they modernize legacy grid infrastructure and prolong connectivity to 1000’s of distant discipline property resembling reclosers, capacitor banks, and DER controllers. Many of those distribution techniques proceed to depend upon legacy OT protocols resembling DNP3 and IEC 101/104. These protocols, developed a long time in the past, lack inherent safety features.
As organizations enhance IP connectivity throughout distribution techniques, feeders, and edge websites, the general assault floor expands, making these environments extra susceptible to trendy cyber threats. Restricted bodily safety at distribution places, lengthy asset lifecycles, and constrained energy and compute budgets make it tough to deploy conventional IT safety controls, leaving units susceptible to malware, unauthorized entry and lateral risk motion.
IR1101 answer:
The IR1101 offers important safety providers for securing communication protocols at a recloser financial institution resembling MACsec and software conscious monitoring for OT protocols resembling Modbus, DNP3 and IEC101/104 to make sure safe community operations.
Platform safety benefit: utilizing a complicated software conscious firewall and segmentation the IR1101 enforces policy-based entry management and application-layer risk detection for over 1000 purposes. It permits for communication solely on accepted ports and checks for suspicious operations within the software. This limits potential collateral harm if a tool is compromised or begins to behave suspiciously. Sign administration, sensible parking, and different crucial utility community property are positioned in logically remoted community segments. The IR1101 by way of its community segmentation capabilities, prevents threat of a lateral motion from impacting the broader system.
IR1835: “The defender” designed to guard crucial public infrastructure resembling oil and gasoline pipelines
Essential infrastructure environments resembling oil and gasoline pipelines, demand always-on connectivity and rigorous safety between related property. These distributed techniques depend on fixed communication between controllers, PLCs, RTUs, and central operations to ensure that operations run easy. A single breach—resembling a compromised PLC — might lead to operational downtime or security dangers throughout large-scale infrastructure. To safeguard these environments, the community should be sure that solely trusted units and validated purposes can change knowledge. The IR1835 excels at stopping unauthorized entry or malware propagation on the edge which might probably result in manipulation of management techniques (PLCs) that trigger widespread harm.
Essential infrastructure environments resembling oil and gasoline pipelines, demand always-on connectivity and rigorous safety between related property. These distributed techniques depend on fixed communication between controllers, PLCs, RTUs, and central operations to ensure that operations run easy. A single breach – resembling a compromised PLC – might lead to operational downtime or security dangers throughout large-scale infrastructure. To safeguard these environments, the community should be sure that solely trusted units and validated purposes can change knowledge. The IR1835 could be very efficient at stopping unauthorized entry or malware on the community edge. This helps forestall attackers from taking management of techniques like PLCs, which might in any other case trigger severe harm.
Platform safety benefit, the IR1835 affords a complete superior safety stack which builds on the IR1101 which incorporates Risk detection Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), These superior capabilities detect malware and ransomware threats inside software circulation. these threats can take over OR harm crucial public service networks and trigger widespread harm
IR8340: “The particular operative” for securing crucial utility substations
Utility substations type the spine of crucial public vitality infrastructure, connecting discipline units, sensors, and management techniques that guarantee dependable energy supply from the Grid and protected vitality switch to the top client. As these property develop in quantity turn out to be more and more related and distributed, additionally they turn out to be extra susceptible to cyberattacks. A single compromised RTU or IED can result in grid instability, operational downtime, and security incidents resembling missed warnings on downed powerlines. This leads to disrupting energy to the grid. To mitigate these threats, networks should implement zero-trust ideas—permitting solely trusted units, purposes, and communications to function throughout IT and OT domains. The Cisco IR8340 Industrial Router delivers this degree of safety with full superior subsequent technology firewall capabilities and deep application-layer inspection to fulfill this problem. Allowing utilities to fulfill compliance with the IEC 61850 standard, which is essential in industrial networks to make sure interoperability and enhanced reliability inside substations and different crucial infrastructure.
Platform safety benefit: includes high performance Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) for fast risk detection, malware protection, and TLS decryption to detect and block encrypted threats concentrating on multiple utility providers resembling bodily safety cameras and SCADA monitoring techniques. The IR8340 is ideal for safeguarding in opposition to malware, exploits, and denial-of-service assaults, stopping adversaries from tampering with video feeds or gaining management of units, disrupting crucial energy supply providers.
The Secret is out! One built-in, future-proof answer
With Cisco, prospects don’t have to decide on between rugged routers and firewalls. Cisco Industrial Routers mix:
- Embedded cyber resilience
- Modularity for future progress
- Enterprise-grade superior firewall safety
The consequence: fewer units to deploy, diminished operational complexity, and stronger defenses in opposition to trendy cyber threats—all from a trusted chief in industrial networking. Cisco Industrial Routers are extra than simply routers—they’re superior firewalls with safety features built-in and tailor-made to safe your industrial environments.
To be taught extra:
Answer overview: Cisco Catalyst Industrial Routers with Cisco Subsequent-Technology Firewall
