Industry: Manufacturing / Industrial Automation
Environment: Windows Server + IIS
Use Case: MES / Intranet Portals / Supplier Systems
Solution: SafeLine Web Application Firewall
Background: When Industrial Web Systems Become an Attack Surface
In recent years, manufacturing enterprises have accelerated digital transformation.
Internal systems such as MES platforms, supplier portals, inventory dashboards, and equipment monitoring systems are increasingly deployed as web applications.
In this case, a mid-sized manufacturing company operating multiple factories relied heavily on a Windows Server 2016 + IIS environment to host its internal web systems.
These systems were never designed to face the internet — yet over time, VPN exposure, remote access, and third-party integrations turned them into a real attack surface.
An internal security audit revealed several critical risks:
- No Web Application Firewall in place
- IIS services directly exposed behind a basic network firewall
- Legacy web applications vulnerable to common attacks
- No visibility into abnormal HTTP traffic
For a production-focused IT team with limited security staffing, replacing the entire stack or migrating to Linux-based infrastructure was not realistic.
Key Challenges for the Manufacturing IT Team
The company’s IT administrators faced challenges common in traditional industries:
1. Windows-Centric Infrastructure
All industrial systems were tightly coupled with Windows Server and IIS.
Most WAF solutions and tutorials assumed Linux expertise, which the team lacked.
2. Zero Downtime Requirement
Manufacturing systems operate around the clock.
Any solution that required frequent restarts, complex configuration, or deep code changes was rejected immediately.
3. Budget Constraints
Enterprise-grade commercial WAF services were considered too expensive for internal-facing systems.
4. Compliance Pressure
The company needed to demonstrate basic web security controls to pass internal audits and supplier security reviews.
Why SafeLine Was Selected
After evaluating several options, the team chose SafeLine WAF for three key reasons:
- Native support for Windows Server environments
- Docker-based deployment with minimal intrusion
- Visual management console instead of command-heavy workflows
SafeLine allowed the team to introduce application-layer protection without re-architecting their IIS setup.
Deployment: SafeLine on Windows Server in Production
Step 1: Preparing the Windows Environment
SafeLine was deployed using Docker on Windows Server.
No changes were made to the application code or IIS configuration during the initial setup.
Step 2: Traffic Proxy Configuration
The internal web systems were added as protected services inside SafeLine’s dashboard, acting as a reverse proxy in front of IIS.
Step 3: Immediate Protection Activation
Within minutes, SafeLine began inspecting inbound traffic, applying default protection rules for:
- SQL Injection
- Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
- Directory traversal
- Abnormal request patterns
No production downtime was reported during the rollout.
Security Improvements Observed After Deployment
Within the first few weeks, the IT team noticed measurable improvements:
Blocking Automated Scanning Attempts
SafeLine detected and blocked multiple automated scanners targeting legacy endpoints — traffic that previously went unnoticed.
Protection Against Weak Internal Authentication
Brute-force login attempts against internal admin panels were automatically rate-limited and blocked.
Improved Visibility
For the first time, the team gained clear logs and dashboards showing:
- Attack types
- Source IPs
- Triggered rules
- Access patterns
This visibility helped justify security decisions during audits.
Industry-Specific Benefits for Manufacturing
Unlike internet-facing SaaS products, industrial web systems have unique characteristics:
- Predictable access patterns
- Limited user groups
- Low tolerance for false positives
SafeLine’s rule tuning and semantic analysis allowed the team to maintain protection without disrupting factory operations.
Additionally, IP allowlisting was used to restrict access strictly to corporate networks and trusted suppliers.
Results: Practical Security Without Disruption
After deployment:
- Internal security audits passed without major findings
- No performance degradation was observed
- IT staff could manage WAF policies without Linux expertise
- The company avoided expensive third-party security appliances
SafeLine became a baseline security layer rather than a complex security project.
Conclusion
For manufacturing companies running critical web systems on Windows Server and IIS, web application security does not have to be complex or expensive.
This case demonstrates that a lightweight, Windows-friendly WAF like SafeLine can:
- Protect legacy industrial applications
- Improve audit readiness
- Reduce attack exposure
- Fit naturally into traditional IT environments
As manufacturing continues to digitalize, protecting web interfaces is no longer optional — and SafeLine provides a practical path forward.
Official Website: https://safepoint.cloud/landing/safeline
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