Unidirectional
Gateway
When data must flow out of your OT network but nothing must ever flow back in, only hardware-enforced security is good enough. CyInfra designs and deploys unidirectional gateways that create a physics-based barrier between your critical systems and the outside world.
Firewalls Can Be Misconfigured. Data Diodes Cannot.
Firewalls rely on rules, policies, and configurations—all of which can contain errors or be modified by an attacker who gains administrative access. A unidirectional gateway enforces one-way data flow at the hardware level: data can exit your OT network, but it is physically impossible for anything to travel back. This is the highest level of network isolation achievable while still enabling data sharing.
The rise of Industrial IoT and digitization means OT data—from historian servers, SCADA systems, and process controllers—must increasingly flow to enterprise analytics platforms, cloud dashboards, and third-party monitoring systems. Each of these connections creates an entry vector. A unidirectional gateway eliminates that risk entirely by making the connection genuinely one-directional.
High-consequence environments—nuclear facilities, power generation plants, water infrastructure, and defence systems—have relied on data diodes for decades precisely because they provide a level of assurance that no software-based control can match. This same protection is now critical for any OT environment where the cost of a breach exceeds the complexity of deployment.
What a Unidirectional Gateway should do
Hardware-Enforced One-Way Data Flow
Transmit data from your OT network to external systems using a hardware mechanism that makes reverse traffic physically impossible—not just policy-blocked. No configuration error can create a return path.
Historian Server Replication
Safely replicate time-series data from OT historian servers to enterprise data platforms and analytics systems in real time, without exposing the source historian to any inbound connection risk.
Safe IT/OT Integration
Enable seamless data sharing between your control network and enterprise IT systems, cloud platforms, and remote monitoring tools—without introducing the internet-based threat vectors that bidirectional connections create.
Unidirectional Gateway Features for Critical Infrastructure
Zero Backflow Guarantee
Unlike firewalls, data diodes enforce directionality in hardware—no rule changes, software updates, or administrator errors can ever create a return path into your OT network.
Real-Time OT Data Transfer
Transmit process data, alarms, and historian logs to enterprise systems in real time, maintaining full operational visibility without any connectivity risk to the source network.
Protocol Conversion & Application Support
Support data transfer for a wide range of OT applications—historian replication, SCADA monitoring feeds, alarm forwarding, and data lake integration—with purpose-built software connectors on both sides of the diode.
Rapid Deployment with No Network Changes
Install inline without requiring changes to IP routing tables, unlike bidirectional firewalls. Get hardware-grade protection operational in days rather than weeks.
