Open Systems Introduces OT Firewall to Secure Critical Infrastructures

Firewall solution enables organizations to embrace Industry 4.0 without sacrificing security

ZURICH - September 19, 2023 - Open Systems, a leader in managed secure access service edge (SASE) services, today announced the general availability of its OT firewall service. The Open Systems OT Firewall provides organizations with a dedicated appliance at the center of operational technology (OT) networks for better visibility and control of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) traffic, enabling fast detection and remediation of malicious activity.

Many manufacturing organizations are adopting IIoT as part of Industry 4.0 strategies, increasing the risk of a breach in their OT environment. According to a survey conducted by SCADAfence, 76% of OT experts said they believe that their OT security risk level is high or severe.

“Most organizations don’t have full visibility into their OT environments. In many cases, a threat can be detected when traffic is leaving the facility out to the internet, but it could be too late at that point,” said Stefan Keller, Chief Product Officer at Open Systems. “Organizations need to bring visibility into their OT environments. With Open Systems OT Firewall, we provide network security monitoring capabilities to monitor traffic and detect threats, as well as mitigating them thanks to network isolation.”

Open Systems OT Firewall also includes technical support from Open Systems’ expert team to help customers successfully implement thorough network segmentation on the OT firewall. OT segmentation is then easily managed using simple policy and zoning concepts.

“With the growing need to get information from production environments like sensor data, ensuring a secure OT environment has become crucial,” said Dirk Theissen, Enterprise IT Security Architect at GEA. “By implementing Open Systems OT Firewall, we have the security we need with 24×7 managed service from Open Systems. We appreciate the trusted partnership with Open Systems when working on securing critical infrastructure.”

“According to our research, 83% of network teams are aware of OT and IoT devices and sensors connecting to their enterprise networks and 43% of NetOps pros say IoT and OT are major drivers of overall network strategy,” said Shamus McGillicuddy, Vice President of Research at Enterprise Management Associates. “This mainstream adoption of OT and IoT devices on IT networks means that a robust OT security strategy is no longer a nice-to-have - it needs to be a top priority for organizations.”

Additional resources:

• White paper: https://go.open-systems.com/Modern-OT-Environments.html
• Webinar: https://info.enterprisemanagement.com/securing-modern-operational-techn-networks-webinar-ws
• Open Systems OT Firewall: https://www.open-systems.com/sase/ot-firewall

Follow Open Systems on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Open Systems

Open Systems is an AI-first SASE platform company delivering secure access and networking to help enterprises connect users, applications and infrastructure across complex hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Its proprietary platform combines SSE capabilities, including ZTNA, SWG, CASB and FWaaS, with SD-WAN, end-to-end connectivity, unified policy management, and advanced analytics in a single architecture.

While many cybersecurity providers focus primarily on advancing technology capabilities, Open Systems combines its AI-first SASE platform with an execution model designed for real-world operability, ensuring services are not only deployed, but continuously run, adapted and improved through a combination of AI-enabled operations and NOC-based expertise (Mission Control), built on decades of operational experience, helping organizations reduce complexity, increase visibility and strengthen security outcomes at global scale.

Founded in Switzerland in 1990, Open Systems generates more than USD 100 million in annual revenue and supports global enterprise customers operating in more than 180 countries. Since 2024, the company has been part of Swiss Post, combining Swiss trust and stability with global reach. As a European alternative to US- and Israel-based cybersecurity providers, Open Systems is guided by strong principles around sovereignty requirements, regulatory alignment, transparency and shared responsibility - taking clear ownership for security, performance and operational outcomes, helping organizations maintain control in an increasingly complex digital landscape.

Contacts:

Mackenzie Kreitler

Director of Corporate Communications

mkreitler@open-systems.com