FPGA-Based Cloaking and Security Tech Helps Protect Equipment on IT and OT Networks from the Bad Guys

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You can’t attack what you can’t see, and cloaking technology for devices on Ethernet LANs is merely one of many protection layers implemented in Q-Net Security’s Q-Box to protect networked devices and transaction between these devices from cyberattacks. Other security technologies built into the Q-Box include encryption, authentication, and the use of different, randomly generated security keys created just in time for each transaction – called JITKeys – with no external key management.

Adding security to a networked device is as simple as placing a small Q-Box between a protected device and its LAN using an extra RJ45 cable. Each Q-Box can protect as many as 2000 network endpoints, allowing operators to create protected LAN segments throughout a larger network. Connect the Q-Box to a WAN router and the protected LAN segments can be located anywhere in the world.

You can use the Q-Box to protect a wide range of networked devices including:

• Servers and PCs on IT networks


• Financial equipment ranging from ATMs in banks to slot machines in casinos


• Equipment connected to Operational Technology (OT) networks in buildings, factories, refineries, and utilities including PLCs and other industrial controllers, lighting systems, security systems and cameras, and even robotic equipment

The Q-Box can secure any device on an Ethernet LAN. The Q-Box works with all networked devices including legacy systems.

Face it. Cyberspace is getting more dangerous every day. Need proof? Here are just a handful of recent cyberattacks:

• December, 2020: Hackers inserted malicious code into SolarWinds’ Orion software, exposing sensitive and critical data at top government agencies including parts of the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, the Department of Energy, the National Nuclear Security Administration, and the Treasury; corporations including systems Microsoft, Cisco, Intel, and Deloitte; and other organizations including the California Department of State Hospitals, and Kent State University.¹


• February, 2021: A Hacker attempted to poison the drinking water supply for Oldsmar, Florida by dangerously increasing sodium hydroxide levels in the water.²


• March, 2021: Hackers compromised more than 150,000 security cameras located in gyms, jails, schools, hospitals, and factories.³


• May, 2021: The DarkSide Russian hacking group forced Colonial Pipeline to cut the connection between its IT and OT networks, shutting down the company’s 5500-mile pipeline for several days and causing massive gasoline shortages on the US east coast.⁴

Q-Net implemented the secure technology inside of the Q-Box using the programmable hardware in an Intel® Cyclone® FPGA. The Q-Box provides access protection without requiring changes or additions to an endpoint’s legacy code and with no modifications to existing equipment. In addition, the FPGA-based hardware in the Q-Box does not require and does not permit software updates or patches from the network. The network security protection it supplies is immutable. Because it’s implemented in hardware on an FPGA, the Q-Box introduces only a few microseconds of network latency.

For more information about Q-Net Security’s Q-Box, click here.

 

Notices and Disclaimers

 

1. “SolarWinds Hack Victims: From Tech Companies to a Hospital and University,” The Wall Street Journal, https://www.wsj.com/articles/solarwinds-hack-victims-from-tech-companies-to-a-hospital-and-university-11608548402


2. “A Hacker Tried to Poison a Florida City's Water Supply, Officials Say,” Wired, https://www.wired.com/story/oldsmar-florida-water-utility-hack/


3. “Hackers just pulled off one of the most mind-boggling hacks of 2021 so far,” BGR Media, https://bgr.com/tech/security-cameras-hacked-verkada-customers-exposed/


4. “Intel® Agilex® FPGAs target IPUs, SmartNICs, and 5G Networks,” https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/central-libraries/us/en/documents/agilex-fpgas-target-ipus-smartnics-5g-networks-white-paper.pdf

 

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No product or component can be absolutely secure.

Your costs and results may vary.

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