The customer aimed to introduce secure, flexible access to production assets while supporting a Zero Trust security strategy in an existing brownfield manufacturing environment. Key objectives included strengthening cybersecurity, enabling secure remote access, improving IT/OT integration, and creating a standardized approach to OT communication, all without disrupting ongoing production operations or modifying the existing network infrastructure.

Siemens implemented SINEC Secure Connect as a centralized platform for secure OT connectivity. Using overlay network technology, the solution establishes encrypted virtual tunnels between authorized users and assets without changing the existing production network. Centralized identity management, granular access policies, cloud-hosted control functions, and secure edge routers provide scalable, identity-based access while supporting the customer's Zero Trust architecture and future growth requirements.

The Siemens Electronics Works Amberg (EWA) was founded in 1989 and manufactures products that include Simatic programmable logic controllers (PLCs). Every year, the factory manufactures about 17 million Simatic products, meaning that one product is dispatched every second. Over 1,000 product variants are manufactured there. They’re used to control plants and machinery and automate production facilities, saving time and costs and improving product quality.

Production processes at Amberg itself are also controlled by about 2,800 Simatic components. Production functions on a largely automated basis, with 75 percent of the value chain handled independently by machines and robots. In any 24-hour period, products are prepared for dispatch to approximately 60,000 customers worldwide. EWA manufactures to a quality standard of 99.9990 percent. As the result of sustainable work quality and comprehensive data integration, this achievement sets a benchmark for industrial production.