New Features in InfoWatch Industrial Firewall 3.14: Enhanced Support for 16 Industrial Protocols and Alpha.Link Integration

**The InfoWatch ARMA Industrial Firewall has received an update: version 3.14 introduces new features for industrial networks, enhanced automation capabilities, and support for the Alpha.Link protocol. This firewall is employed in the Russian software platform «Alpha Platform» developed by Atomic Soft for the creation of various classes of automated control systems (ACS) for technological processes.**

As of now, the InfoWatch ARMA Industrial Firewall is the only solution on the Russian market that can deeply analyze 16 industrial protocols down to the command level. This capability ensures a high level of security for industrial systems and critical information infrastructure (CII).

The support for the Alpha.Link protocol is a distinctive feature of this firewall, providing reliable protection for domestic industrial infrastructures. This protocol enables the exchange of all types of data within the «Alpha Platform» system, including the transmission of real-time operational data, event generation, and control actions between nodes.

The «Alpha Platform» has been used to design Russian systems for managing technological processes (SCADA) in sectors such as mining, oil and gas, energy, chemicals, transportation, and building engineering systems management.

In the latest version of the firewall, the ability to use variable addresses while working with the CIP/EthernetIP protocol has been added. This feature allows for the restriction of specific operations or grants access to designated memory areas for Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), enabling the creation of universal rules for any CIP packets. As a result, security policies can be quickly established without being tied to particular commands.

The latest update has made the creation of LACP channels accessible through a user-friendly interface, making the configuration of fault-tolerant and high-performance communication paths faster and easier. The statuses of IPSec connections are now available for monitoring via SNMP protocol, and the ability to export MIB files has been included for seamless integration into external monitoring systems.

Version 3.14 has introduced real-time server health monitoring. A new monitoring page displays key parameters of the hardware platform (IMPI), including fan speeds, power supply voltages, and CPU and memory load.

To enhance device search and control within the network, features such as device sorting by columns, entity and physical interface display, as well as one-click buttons for adding MAC addresses to whitelist and blacklist have been added.

The updated interface offers more information and management options:

— A clear update process where installation progress can be tracked via a new indication page.
— Centralized interface monitoring where all information regarding the status of network connections is now accessible on a single «Interfaces: Overview» page.
— Quick access to key data where current user information, host name, and CARP status are now displayed in the navigation area.
— Flexible routing management where some settings can now be applied without rebooting the system.