The digitalisation of production continues to advance, but with increased connectivity comes a growing attack surface.
At it-sa in Nuremberg on 28 October 2026, we will be demonstrating why a complete asset inventory is no longer just a ‘nice-to-have’ and how you can achieve visibility without putting your production at risk.
Anyone who lacks detailed visibility of their connected machinery and control systems today risks not only unplanned downtime, but also severe compliance penalties. However, the path to full visibility on the shop floor is often paved with obstacles.
The Dilemma: Why traditional IT security fails in production
In traditional IT environments, active network scans and software agents have long been standard practice. Applying these methods to Operational Technology (OT) without careful consideration, however, introduces severe risks.
Industrial control systems (Programmable Logic Controller – PLCs) or robotic systems often have lifecycles exceeding 15 years, rely on unencrypted protocols (such as S7comm), and feature extremely sensitive network stacks. An active IT ping scan can trigger an immediate system crash and lead to costly production downtime. The consequence of this fear of outages: vast ‘blind spots’ emerge across many factory floors.
Regulatory Pressure: NIS 2 and ISO 27001 Leave No Room for Blind Spots
This is precisely where regulators are stepping in. The international standard ISO 27001 mandates a complete, up-to-date asset register.
The requirements under the new NIS 2 Directive are even more stringent: they demand not only rigorous risk assessments, but also an initial incident notification within 24 hours in the event of a security breach. If you have to spend precious time after a cyber attack figuring out which IP address belongs to which machine, meeting this deadline becomes impossible. Furthermore, as NIS 2 places personal liability on executive management, OT visibility becomes a top-priority board topic.
The logical conclusion: you can only protect, assess, and report what you actually know.
The Solution: High visibility, low operational risk
How can this conflict be resolved in practice? Through a pragmatic approach. Rather than actively scanning sensitive OT devices, Airbus Protect relies on passive traffic monitoring (Deep Packet Inspection).
A sensor is silently connected to existing network switches to passively inspect ongoing network traffic. This is complemented by hybrid enrichment and meaningful contextualisation aligned with IEC 62443. The result is a complete network topology, with low risk to ongoing operations.
Learn more about what Airbus Protect does in OT Security here
Meet us at it-sa 2026!
Would you like to learn how to implement this pragmatic approach in your organisation using a 4-step roadmap?
Join Airbus Protect’s presentation on 28 October 2026 at it-sa in Nuremberg. Afterwards, we cordially invite you to visit the Airbus Protect stand 9-440 in Hall 9.
Bring your questions! Let’s discuss your challenges and together map out what an OT Asset Quick Check could look like for your infrastructure.
We look forward to seeing you there!