The year with macmon secure was a time full of innovations and diverse activities around the topic of network security - for the twentieth time. The integration with Belden is increasingly taking shape on many levels - from product development to sales and marketing. The merging of IT and OT networks is a dynamic development that also caused increased interest in macmon’s reliable solutions at this year’s trade fair “it-sa”, Germany. The macmon partner day was all about fair cooperation with market partners and the presentation of technological advances, this time with many guests from all over Europe. For its outstanding performance and as a sign of increasing international recognition, macmon received two international awards, the “Network Computing Award” and the “Network Solution of the Year” Award. Numerous satisfied customers share their experiences in webinars or user reports - in general, continuous exchange and support of customers is a pillar of the great success. And Many actions were also realized on the topic of ESG.
macmon and Belden celebrate their birthdays
Belden celebrated its 120th anniversary this year and published its ESG report. ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance, and illustrates how broadly sustainability is defined. It ranges from climate change to workforce diversity to sustainable production.
For 120 years, Belden has been a leading company in the development and manufacturing of wires, cables, and communication solutions. The company is globally recognized for its performance-oriented portfolio, future-oriented know-how, reliability, stable and pragmatic solutions. macmon secure celebrated its 20th anniversary this year and has been part of Belden’s global network since 2022.
macmon secure celebrated its 20th anniversary this year and has been part of Belden’s global network since 2022. In addition to the technologically leading solution for cybersecurity, which complements Belden’s communication portfolio with the aspect of IT and OT security, the convergence of corporate values also led to a decision to merge. An exciting timeline illustrates the silver jubilee. DISCOVER MORE
Networks grow together
OT networks were traditionally separated from IT networks and were relatively safe from cybercriminals due to proprietary protocols, isolated solutions, and outdated technologies. With digitization, OT networks are changing and are increasingly exposed to external risks. Companies realize that OT networks must also be included in their cybersecurity strategies to achieve a comprehensive security concept.
Christian Bücker,
Business Director ,
macmon secure GmbH & Co. KG:„Separating cybersecurity efforts by technology is no longer a sustainable approach. Companies must develop new integrated strategies that combine IT, OT, and IoT security efforts and maximize the use of all cybersecurity resources of the company. The development of a comprehensive security strategy that deals with the current and emerging risks of digitization has never been more urgent than it is today. That’s why we pursue the Zero Trust Network Access philosophy.“
Companies grow together - Close collaboration with Hirschmann
After Belden’s acquisition of macmon secure in 2022, the focus is on the synergies offered by the integration of available hardware and software. Hirschmann products are technology and market leaders in the field of industrial networks and offer innovative solutions that are designed and developed specifically for customers’ requirements in terms of performance, efficiency, and investment security. Hirschmann and macmon secure have cooperated closely in many customer installations in the past. After the acquisition, additional significant investments were made in the cooperation. Comprehensive tests of the most important Hirschmann switches, analyses, and the intensive teamwork of both development teams now enable macmon NAC to take over the task of central user management with the help of the integrated RADIUS server and authorize users based on the configured rule set.
Partner day at the stadium
More than a hundred partners followed the invitation to Berlin on March 2, 2023, to participate in the macmon partner day, which took place at the soccer club 1. FC Union Berlin. Team captain Christian Bücker thanked the partners for great growth with a turnover of almost 10 million euros in 2022. He emphasized that the company was excellently positioned to achieve further success within Belden. The partner day offered a mixture of sales and technical presentations.
Patrick Deruytter, Managing Director Solutions Delivery EMEA, Belden Inc., explained how the progressive digitization is significantly changing requirements for IT and OT security. For OT networks, “Zero Error” applies, because a production standstill or failures of medical networks are unacceptable. The partner day offered an opportunity for macmon partners from many European countries to exchange their experiences and establish personal contacts. The motto of the macmon secure partner day 2023 was “Fairplay & Teamplay”.
macmon received Network Computing Award 2023
The English trade magazine Network Computing awarded various prizes for outstanding achievements in cybersecurity to manufacturers and distributors on June 2, 2023. Five projects were nominated in the “Best International Projects” category. macmon secure won first place with the user report on the Bundesliga soccer and sports club 1. FSV Mainz 05 e.V. In addition, macmon secured second place with the customer project for chocolate manufacturer Ritter Sport. PRE RELEASE
Collecting donations - helping children
On September 7, 2023, distributors Infinigate and Nuvias invited IT service providers, system houses, and manufacturers to the “Charity Gala 2023” to exchange information on current cyber-security topics and collect donations. In the past two years, macmon secure has supported Nuvias’ charitable events. Social commitment is a central element of macmon secure’s corporate philosophy.
Positive it-sa trade fair - OT security is enjoying growing demand
macmon informed customers and interested parties about the latest developments in Zero Trust Network Access for IT and OT environments. While conversations in previous years primarily focused on IT security, many visitors this year were focused on the security of industrial networks. In addition to topics such as digitization or transformation, discussions also took place on the NIS2 directive on network and information security. This must be implemented in all EU member states by October 2024. macmon provides essential building blocks for this effort.
At the press conference, in the spirit of converging networks, Christian Bücker explained:
"Thanks to the integration of macmon secure into the globally active company Belden and our many years of close cooperation with Hirschmann, we have a great deal of expertise with regard to the special security requirements in industrial production. For security in production networks, which are growing closer together with IT networks due to digitalization, the overview and control of end devices without production downtime is a particular challenge." The trade fair was complemented by an attractive program of presentations: Use of NAC in industry using the example of the Titanic, Prof. Dr. Tobias Heer.
Satisfied customers from many industries
macmon was also able to create interesting user reports with its customers in 2023. These give interested parties an insight into successful implementations and show added value from the practice of different industries. TO THE CASE STUDIES
Automotive industry sets high security standards: macmon secure significantly supports supplier JOYSONQUIN with certifications
Adriano Vasile,
Team Leader IT Infrastructure ,
JOYSONQUIN:„The requirements for information security in the automotive industry are growing exponentially. In this complex global value creation process, IT security essentially requires: standardized processes, automated workflows and audit-proof reports. For the TISAX® certification, macmon Network Access Control (NAC) was quickly and easily implemented as IT security solution.“
Memmingen relies on security in the city administration - state-of-the-art technologies for the citizens of a city full of tradition
In addition to classic network access control, Stefan Schönhals, ISB City of Memmingen, sees the automatic VLAN assignment via group assignment as an important advantage of macmon NAC: "The VLAN Manager is an effective and time-saving management component for the simple introduction and automated operation of static and dynamic VLAN concepts. The time saved by automatic VLAN assignment when setting up and switching end devices is a major advantage. Previously, the VLANs had to be configured manually on the switch." READ THE CASE STUDY
And the winner is... macmon: Network Security Solution of the Year
The Computing Security Awards is an annual event organized by Computing Security Magazine to recognize the best products, services and solutions in IT security. Categories include email security, network security, encryption and more. The winners were selected by an independent panel of judges and announced at an awards ceremony in London on 19 October 2023. The trade magazine had previously extensively tested the NAC solution in its own test lab:
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About macmon
macmon secure GmbH has been developing network security software since 2003 and is based in the heart of Berlin. macmon secure extends its proven protection to all enterprise resources in the cloud in 2021 with its zero-trust network access strategy, and is the only provider of NAC plus SDP with Identity and Access Management from Germany.The products macmon NAC (Network Access Control solution) and macmon SDP (Secure Defined Perimeter) are used worldwide to protect networks and cloud resources from unauthorized access. macmon has a broad diverse range of customers varying throughout all industries, capturing SMB’s, medium sized enterprises through to large international corporations. Since its acquisition in 2022, macmon secure has been part of the Industrial Automation Solutions (INS) division of Belden Inc.
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