Server Side Authentication

Authentication ensures that only authorized individuals, services, and applications can access company resources. In WinCC OA, we have adopted Server Side Authentication (SSA) as the default authentication method since version 3.17. Discover the top three advantages of SSA by tuning in to this episode.

Video Information

Length
3:07
Language
English

Transcript

Authentication is the process to ensure that only the right people, services, and apps with the right permissions are allowed to access company resources. So, this is really a key area of cybersecurity!

Hello, this is Mounir again. Thanks for joining this episode of our security series where we are going to explore WinCC OA Server-side Authentication, also named SSA.

SSA is an authentication method, and it has been our default authentication method in WinCC OA since version 3.17. The reason why we changed from client-side authentication to server-side authentication by default is to make your WinCC OA project more secure. However, client-side authentication is still available as a so-called legacy project.

So then, let’s talk about the three major advantages of Server-side Authentication over Client-side Authentication:

  1. Reduced risk of data breaches: SSA is more secure than CSA because it is less vulnerable to cyber-attacks. With SSA, the authentication process is performed on the server side, which means that not all user credentials need to be transmitted over the network at the beginning. This reduces the risk of data breaches and other security threats.
  2. Centralized management: SSA allows for centralized management of user authentication, which makes it easier to manage access to digital systems and resources. This is particularly useful for large organizations that have many users and resources to store in an Active Directory.
  3. Improved scalability: Server-side Authentication is more scalable than Client-side Authentication because it can handle a larger number of users and resources . This is because the authentication process is performed on the server side, which means that the server can handle more requests at once.

Don’t worry, you don’t need to have expert skills in configuring SSA in your project. However, if you'd like to modify something on your own, you should have some experience with Certificates and WinCC OA config entries. But in any case, you can always get in touch with our Customer and Partner Service or register for our WinCC OA Security Workshop which will be presented in our last episode of this video series.

Thank you for watching and subscribing to our LinkedIn and YouTube Channel. Bye and see you in our next episode!