Industrial Protocol Support (50+)

    Decode intent, bind sessions to immutable machine identity, and enforce Zero Trust responses across every supported industrial protocol.

    Protocols
    OT/ICS
    Detection
    12 min
    Last updated: 2026-01-26

    Overview

    In OT environments, “protocol support” must mean more than recognizing a port number. QuantLayer XDR treats industrial protocols as enforceable states: each session is mapped to an immutable machine identity, evaluated against control policies, and continuously verified with behavioral signals.

    What “supported” means in QuantLayer

    Protocol support equals enforceable context
    protocol-aware parsing | identity binding | behavioral baselining | detection | reporting (and optional enforcement). This is delivered with OT-safe deployment patterns (observe → enforce).

    How QuantLayer supports industrial protocols

    Each protocol is supported through four QuantLayer layers:

    1) Immutable Identity (Machine Fingerprint + DAG)

    Stateful parsing discovers PLCs, RTUs, HMIs, and gateways so every session can be bound to a deterministic machine fingerprint and dependency graph.

    2) Zero Trust Policy & Enforcement Engine

    Apply identity-aware rules, anomaly detection, microsegments, and safe responses tailored to the risk appetite of each zone.

    3) Continuous Monitoring & XDR Telemetry

    Decode protocol commands, correlate them with host/process telemetry, and feed every signal into the XDR data lake for alerts and context.

    4) Automated / Agentless Response

    Respond to abnormal requests with adaptive policy actions, change-window guards, and requester confirmation flows without touching endpoints.

    OT-safe collection

    QuantLayer ingests industrial traffic through passive taps, SPAN/mirror ports, inline observers, and agentless middleware so collection never disrupts production.

    • Zero-footprint sensors plug into mirrored segments for CIP, Modbus, DNP3, and other real-time protocols.
    • Gateway connectors (OPC UA, MQTT, MQTT-SN) bring downsampled telemetry into the QuantLayer mesh while honor change windows.

    Supported protocol list (50+)

    Below is a clean list of industrial protocols QuantLayer XDR can support, grouped by common OT/ICS domains.

    PLC & Factory Automation (11)

    Modbus TCP Modbus RTU (via gateway) EtherNet/IP (CIP) PROFINET PROFIBUS DP Siemens S7 (S7-300/1200) Mitsubishi MELSEC Omron FINS Rockwell DF1 EtherCAT OPC UA (via gateway)

    Power & Utilities (12)

    DNP3 DNP3 Secure Authentication IEC 60870-5-101 IEC 60870-5-104 IEC 61850 MMS IEC 61850 GOOSE IEC 61850 Sampled Values IEC 61850-9-2LE IEC 62056 (DLMS/COSEM) IEC 62351 ICCP/TASE.2 OPC UA PubSub

    Process & Instrumentation (10)

    HART (via gateway) WirelessHART FOUNDATION Fieldbus ISA100.11a Modbus Plus PROFIBUS PA ControlNet DeviceNet AS-i CIP Safety

    Building Automation & Facilities (8)

    BACnet/IP BACnet MSTP (via gateway) KNX/IP KNX TP (via gateway) DALI (via gateway) LonWorks/IP OPC UA Web services for building systems

    IIoT / Edge Messaging & Telemetry (10)

    MQTT MQTT-SN AMQP CoAP LwM2M DDS OPC UA PubSub WebSockets/HTTP APIs LoRaWAN IEEE 802.15.4

    Remote Ops & Management (8)

    SSH RDP VNC TLS/HTTPS (secure APIs) Mutual TLS IPsec/VPN tunnels SFTP/SCP SNMP/NTP monitoring

    Note on vendor/proprietary stacks

    Where vendor protocols are proprietary, tunneled, or carried over OEM management planes, QuantLayer still observes intent through gateway connectors, engineering tools, and enriched telemetry so high-level assets remain enforceable and auditable.

    Protocol-aware detections (examples)

    • Unauthorized writes (register/tag/parameter changes outside approved change windows).
    • New master/controller initiating remote commands (rogue engineering station or unmanaged gateway).
    • Unsafe command sequences that deviate from established process order or safety interlocks.
    • Protocol tunneling, abnormal port/protocol mismatches, or duplicated sessions.
    • Lateral movement between OT zones using ICS protocols outside documented conduits.
    • Identity drift when a device fingerprint no longer matches its expected role.

    Policy enforcement patterns

    Observe

    Log every session, fingerprint, and intent without blocking so teams can baseline behavior and validate policies before staging.

    Enforce

    Trigger deny/quarantine, microsegment, or step-up flows only when risk thresholds and change approvals align with safety windows.

    Enforcement actions (OT-safe)
    Microsegment a device/zone, quarantine to a maintenance VLAN, rotate keys, request operator confirmation, or escalate to incident response without disrupting healthy traffic.

    Evidence & reporting

    • Who/what identity participated in each session, when it began, and when it ended.
    • Policy decisions tied to evidence (allow/warn/deny) along with signed telemetry.
    • Change windows, approvals, and OT-safe enforcement steps captured for audits and controllers.

    Compliance alignment

    This approach supports industrial governance models aligned with IEC 62443, NIST SP 800-82, and sector-specific frameworks so every protocol decision is traceable and defensible.

    Assets & Devices screen showing device identity, posture, and Console action

    QuantLayer XDR treats industrial protocols as enforceable sessions, combining protocol parsing, identity, policy, telemetry, and OT-safe controls.