SSenStone announced that its operational technology (OT) security solution, the OTAC Trusted Access Gateway (TAG), has achieved KC and CE certifications. Developed in partnership with MX On, South Korea’s leading Human-Machine Interface (HMI) provider for smart factories, the CE mark confirms the technology meets the stringent safety, health, and environmental protection requirements for deployment across European industrial sites.
Tailored specifically for OT environments, the OTAC TAG integrates SSenStone’s proprietary one-way dynamic authentication technology—One-Time Authentication Code (OTAC)—into MX On’s ruggedised industrial hardware. By enforcing user authentication at OT endpoints such as Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and Remote Terminal Units (RTUs), it secures the critical stage where physical facility access and control occur. This marks a significant departure from conventional network-centric security, shifting the focus to controlling access exactly at the point where control programmes are executed or modified.
The CE certification is particularly crucial as Europe continues to tighten its cybersecurity frameworks for critical infrastructure, driven by directives such as NIS2 (Network and Information Systems Directive 2) and the CRA (Cyber Resilience Act). These regulations place a heavy emphasis on identity-based security, demanding strict user verification, traceable access histories, and rigorous control prior to any facility execution. With these certifications, SSenStone and MX On are well-positioned to accelerate their expansion into the European and wider global industrial markets.
A persistent challenge in securing OT systems is the difficulty of modifying legacy infrastructure without risking operational stability. The OTAC TAG addresses this by enhancing user identification and access control without requiring changes to existing workflows. Because it leverages one-way dynamic authentication, it functions seamlessly even in offline or air-gapped industrial environments. Crucially, it manages the complex access requirements of modern facilities, such as monitoring third-party maintenance contractors, preventing credential sharing, and blocking unauthorised external access.
Chang-hun Yoo, CEO of SSenStone, commented: "While the security industry has traditionally focused on better threat detection, real-world attacks often exploit compromised legitimate accounts to directly access and modify facility programmes. The key to true OT security lies in enforcing strict user verification right at the point of execution, before any control action can be taken."
He added, "Achieving these KC and CE certifications proves that our endpoint access control technology is ready for widespread deployment in the most demanding global industrial environments."