Case Study: Rockwell Automation achieves secure native OT access without VPN risk with Xona X-Connect

Rockwell Automation secures Studio 5000 access with XONA, exposing 0 OT network details

The customer, Rockwell Automation, required secure remote access for its engineers to use thick client applications like Studio 5000 to program and troubleshoot PLCs. The challenge was that these specialized tools needed a real TCP network connection to operate, and traditional solutions like VPNs extended the network perimeter, creating significant risk by exposing the entire OT subnet to potential lateral movement from a compromised workstation.

The vendor, XONA, addressed this with its X-Connect capability. The solution provides secure, application-layer TCP connectivity that allows the thick client to connect to localhost, while the XONA platform encrypts and tunnels the traffic to the target asset. This ensures the engineer's workstation never gains network-level access, eliminating lateral movement risk and keeping the OT network completely invisible. The result is that engineers achieved full application functionality for critical tasks without exposing the operational technology environment.

Rockwell Automation