Defending against invisible attackers

“Rhebo” is an abbreviation of rhenium diboride, one of the hardest synthetically made metals there is. It might seem like an unusual name for an IT start-up, but “hardness” is an IT security term that refers to a process that makes information technology systems particularly resistant to attacks. And this is it, Rhebo offers: a product that ensures fault-free operation of networked industrial plants.

Rhebo Industrial Protector monitors operation of industrial control technology and critical IoT devices in real time, analysing and visualising overall data traffic. An example: despite reliable production in the welding robot cell in an automobile manufacturer's body construction section, Rhebo Industrial Protector recognised that there were abnormalities during communication. The analysis showed that two devices in the data collection system had the same IP addresses. This incorrect configuration led to malfunctioning communication between the affected stations.

If Rhebo had not pointed out this problem, the plant would have come to a standstill. Moreover, a duplicate IP address can indicate a masquerade attack, in which an attacker takes on the identity of a network participant.

For operators of automated production plants and critical infrastructure, using Rhebo Industrial Protector provides operational safety and protection against both internal and external cyber-attacks. The warning system prevents downtime and thus also reduces costs.

That is the best feeling for an entrepreneur. In practice, this also means leaving firmly entrenched corporate structures behind. “I am firmly convinced that time has nothing to do with corporate productivity or success”, says Mochalski. So there are no time clocks at Rhebo. Employees' family lives also benefit from this. But they did not just choose this work approach to support families, they did it for reasons of productivity. “Programmers cannot simply sit down and program for eight straight hours. If they did that, only nonsense would be the outcome.”

All in all, Rhebo places emphasis on results. This also includes creative breaks that can be spent in the inspiring atmosphere of the office’s neighbourhood. Rhebo is located in Leipzig in what used to be a cotton mill between artist studios and galleries. But one of the most important factors is the internal interaction between employees. It creates the vitality behind Rhebo's corporate culture. This interaction is also important “because the demands placed on our products are constantly developing further”, says Mochalski.

Rhebo also maintains consistent communication with customers: Rhebo's industrial network monitoring is, in principle, a type of alarm system. If the alarm goes off, someone has to take action. However, customers often do not have a “someone” who can act. So before installing network monitoring, Rhebo always performs on-site stability and security audits to find existing security gaps and then works with customers to close them. For running operation, Rhebo also offers the ReadyNow managed service that supports customers during the process of evaluating anomalies.