Key Takeaways
- Commissioning establishes a gateway’s security baseline, but changes to devices, users, networks, firmware, and remote access can change how secure that gateway remains.
- Manufacturers, integrators, and customers each have a role in keeping connected gateways secure after installation.
- Ongoing gateway security includes managing vulnerabilities, keeping software and firmware current, controlling access, reviewing network configuration, and testing security regularly.
- New cybersecurity requirements, including the EU Cyber Resilience Act, reflect a broader move toward managing cybersecurity throughout a connected product’s lifecycle.
A connected gateway may be securely configured and tested when it’s installed, but that’s hardly the end of cybersecurity.
Networks change. Devices are added or replaced. Credentials change hands. New vulnerabilities are discovered. Firmware evolves. And security expectations for connected products keep rising.
For integrators and facility teams, that means gateway security is not a one-and-done checklist. Instead, it’s an ongoing responsibility that extends throughout the life of the deployment.
What Changes Once the Gateway Is Live?
At commissioning, integrators make important decisions about how a gateway connects to equipment, networks, management interfaces, and remote applications. Those decisions establish a starting point for security.
As the system grows and gets updated, it’s worth revisiting:
- Firmware and software updates
- User accounts and credentials
- Remote access and network connections
- Configuration changes
- Newly identified vulnerabilities
- Devices or systems added to the deployment
The goal isn’t just to install a secure product. It’s to keep the deployment secure as devices, users, and connections shift around it.
What Happens When a New Risk Is Found?
When a new cybersecurity risk is found, someone has to determine whether the product is affected – and what to do next. That can mean reviewing the issue, developing a fix or mitigation, and communicating what customers and integrators need to know.
For MSA FieldServer gateways and the Grid platform, cybersecurity is built into the way products are designed, tested, and supported. That foundation includes infrastructure built on AWS, an in-house cybersecurity team involved in architecture and design decisions, and information security practices certified to ISO/IEC 27001.
Across the product lifecycle, that also means:
- Annual third-party penetration testing on gateways and MSA Grid, backed by quarterly internal vulnerability scans
- Automatic firmware updates, so fixes reach deployed devices without a site visit
- FieldServer Manager, which lets teams push firmware updates and monitor device status remotely across a fleet
- A find-it, fix-it, retest-it pattern, where findings from testing or advisories lead to real changes, like the authentication fix shipped in firmware build 7.0.0
What Integrators Should Keep Checking
A manufacturer can build security into a gateway but how it’s deployed and maintained still matters.
A few things worth checking from time to time:
- Whether credentials meet cybersecurity baselines:
- Unique passwords
- Industry-standard complexity
- No default or shared logins left active
- Whether the gateway is still properly separated from other network traffic
- Whether remote access is configured securely and default settings have been replaced
- Whether firmware is current, since older firmware can leave known vulnerabilities unaddressed
- Whether configuration backups are current, protected, and usable if they’re needed
These aren’t hypothetical suggestions. They’re the same practices MSA uses on FieldServer gateways and MSA Grid internally, alongside encrypted data in transit and at rest, varying levels of user authorization, and monitored, logged access for anyone connecting manually.
The Rules Are Catching Up
Regulators are starting to put more specific requirements around connected-product security.
The EU Cyber Resilience Act, for example, sets cybersecurity requirements for products with digital elements, including vulnerability management, security updates, and product support.
For integrators, the takeaway is simple: cybersecurity expectations are extending beyond installation. Customers may increasingly ask how products are updated, how vulnerabilities are handled, and what support looks like after commissioning.
That lines up with the way MSA approaches ongoing testing, vulnerability review, and security updates.
FieldServer gateways also carry certifications such as BTL and ODVA, but those answer a different question. They confirm interoperability and protocol conformance. Integrators still need to look separately at how a product is tested for cybersecurity and how that security is maintained once it’s in the field.
A Quick Post-Commissioning Security Check
Keeping a gateway secure after commissioning doesn’t mean starting from scratch every time something changes. A quick check of a few basics can help integrators spot where security may need another look.
- Has firmware been updated since installation?
- Do the right people still have access?
- Are any default or shared credentials still in use?
- Has remote access changed?
- Have new devices, applications, or network connections been added?
- Are configuration backups current and usable?
- Has a new vulnerability or security advisory been published that affects the deployment?
Commissioning Is the Beginning, Not the Finish Line
A secure gateway deployment starts with a product designed and tested with cybersecurity in mind. Keeping it secure means paying attention to what changes around it.
For integrators, that could be a firmware update, a new device, a personnel change, a new remote connection, or a network redesign. Any of those can be a reason to revisit how the gateway is configured and secured.
The goal is not to constantly rework the deployment. It’s to recognize the changes that should trigger another look.
Have questions about gateway cybersecurity or how FieldServer fits into your connected environment? Contact us to talk through your application.
