Secomea 3G Secure Remote Access system starter pack

Secomea has announced that their 3G Secure Remote Access system is now available in an economical all-inclusive starter pack. The starter pack includes everything necessary to provide a remote connection to a PLC, HMI or any programmable device and requires no specialist IT knowledge or even involvement, and is typically operational in 15 minutes.

While many remote access solutions rely on using a computer as the site interface, the Secomea approach uses a SiteManager appliance which provides direct access to devices, with the remote user’s own PC hosting the application software. This provides a true end-to-end connection, performing as though the user were actually physically plugged in.

The SiteManager can be equipped with ethernet, USB and serial ports to accommodate virtually all configurable equipment. Digital I/O is provided, and commonly used for a keyed local ‘enable’ switch, and a ‘channel active’ lamp indicator. 3G models provide for situations where no LAN internet access is available.

The solution provides robust two-factor authentication, port filtering based on the actual designated model of PLC, and security based on AES/SSL encryption. A cloud-based authentication server provides ease of use for adding or deleting authorised users, as well as eliminating the need for costly static IP addresses as found in some systems.