REPORT FROM THE MEETING "OT/IT NETWORK SOLUTIONS IN MAINTAINING BUSINESS CONTINUITY AND AS A BARRIER TO RANSOWARE ATTACKS" AT CONCORDIA DESIGN IN POZNAŃ – NOVEMBER 4, 2024
On Friday, November 29, we had the pleasure of hosting Customers and engineers from Cisco Systems at a business breakfast dedicated to network solutions for industry. Extreme conditions in production halls, steel mills, on the railway or in the power industry place high demands on network devices - high and low temperatures, dust, high humidity and an aggressive atmosphere mean that none of the devices designed for office applications, such as the Catalyst 9000 series, will provide stable operation for OT systems. That is why there is a whole range of products dedicated to industry. In addition to resistance to environmental conditions, industrial devices should be resistant to various types of threats from cybercriminals.
The meeting was divided into several modules. The most important ones were:
1. Introducing UpGreat
The meeting began with a short presentation by UpGreat Systemy Komputerowe, known for specializing in network solutions and a long-time partner of Cisco Systems. Participants had the opportunity to learn about the history of the company, its offer and clients.
The UpGreat presentation is available for download -> here.
2. General characteristics of industrial networks – use cases.
In this part of the presentation, Michał Małuszek from Cisco told the audience in which industries industrial networks operate (production, energy, petrochemical and gas, energy, railways, road infrastructure and others), as well as in what conditions devices operate (from -50°C to +75°C, humidity, dust, vibrations, aggressive atmosphere). The portfolio and advantages of Cisco industrial devices were also presented.
The presentation on industrial networks is available for download -> here.
3. Industrial wireless networks
Marcin Szreter presented specific Cisco wireless solutions and showed that wireless networks are not just WiFi. Some of the applications require extremely low latency, roaming without packet loss or data transmission from objects moving at very high speed. Cisco Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul (URWB) was also presented - a wireless network "as reliable as fiber". URWB means latency < 10ms, transfer up to 4.8Gbps, unlicensed frequencies and availability up to 99.995%.
The presentation on industrial wireless networks is available for download -> here.
4. OT and IT Network Integration – Cisco SDA
In the next session, Miłosz Wrona talked about the family of software defined networks solutions – Cisco SDA (Software Defined Access). This approach allows for the creation of a structure (fabric) of wired and wireless devices that provide secure, efficient, reliable access to the network for end devices based on user identification. Cisco SD-Access enables efficient management of access to the network as a whole from a single console – everyone has access to what and only what they should have. The network is managed using Cisco DNA Center with the support of Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine).
The Cisco SDA presentation is available for download -> here.
5. OT Network Security
At the end of the meeting, participants had the opportunity to ask questions to experts from Cisco and UpGreat. This session was an excellent opportunity to clarify any doubts and deepen knowledge about the technologies discussed.
The "Technology Breakfast with Cisco" in Poznań was an excellent opportunity to deepen knowledge about the latest trends and solutions in the field of computer networks. Participants had the opportunity to learn what benefits can result from implementing Cisco technology and what innovations can be introduced to their company. This event certainly contributed to increasing awareness of modern network solutions and enabled the exchange of experiences and networking between IT professionals.
The presentation on OT network security is available for download -> here.
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Co-founder and CEO of UpGreat Computer Systems Sp. z o. o. The company has been supporting large and small enterprises from all over Poland in the field of information technology for 30 years. His main areas of interest are IT security, complex network solutions and group work systems. After hours, he savors the nuances of Stanisław Lem's prose.