--- title: "IT Control | Govern enterprise network connections | Firevault" url: https://fire-vault.com/it-control description: "Govern selected supplier, administrator and enterprise connections. Define access windows, dependencies, incident authority and restoration checks." lang: en-GB --- Control by Firevault (https://fire-vault.com/control) / IT Control # IT Control. Govern the connections that matter. Enterprise networks connect staff, suppliers, applications and management systems. Control by Firevault governs selected crossings without replacing identity, endpoint or network security. Discuss your Control requirements: https://fire-vault.com/contact?subject=control See where Control applies Does administrator access need a permanent route into your infrastructure? Incident Path exposed Outcome Control taken Approximately 120–150 ms Management enable/disable operation Around 2–3 seconds SMS round-trip operation, good signal March 2025 test observations, not guaranteed timings. Why connection control matters ## A connection change is a service decision. An incident can disrupt shared applications, identity services and the teams that depend on them. A broad disconnection can also remove the access engineers need to investigate. An authorised account can still have more network reach than the task requires. Supplier gateways and administrator routes may remain available between jobs, while redundant links bypass an intended boundary. Reported incidents in related sectors ### Bangladesh Bank 2016 Sector Financial Services What was reported Attackers used the bank’s own payment messaging access to send fraudulent transfer instructions worth close to US$1 billion; most were blocked. Payment messaging: https://fire-vault.com/control-blueprint/banking Wikipedia summary of public reporting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Bank_robbery ### CloudNordic 2023 Sector Data Centres What was reported Ransomware reached the hosting company’s management and backup systems through an internal network. Most customers lost all their data. Management network: https://fire-vault.com/control-blueprint/colocations TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/23/cloudnordic-azero-cloud-host-ransomware/ ### British Library 2023 Sector Public Sector What was reported Ransomware took down the library’s catalogue, website and systems for months, and stolen data was published. Public services: https://fire-vault.com/control-blueprint/public-sector Wikipedia summary of public reporting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Library_cyberattack These incidents show how a connection path can shape what happens next. They are not claims about what any single control would have prevented. What Control changes ## Three things you can control physically. Control complements your network security, detection, identity management and incident response. It does not replace them. **It gives their decisions a physical place to act, on the connections you select.** Control access ### Govern when selected connections may exist. Supplier, engineering and partner routes are connected for approved work, to named systems, for a set window, and disconnected afterwards. Not open by default. Control Plans Control third-party connections: https://fire-vault.com/control-module/relay Control connections in two approved stages: https://fire-vault.com/control-module/unlink Control exposure ### Reduce unnecessary standing paths into critical systems. Each critical system keeps the connections it genuinely needs, inside a defined physical boundary. Paths it does not need are disconnected. Control Plans Enforce physical network boundaries: https://fire-vault.com/control-module/execute Protect critical system connections: https://fire-vault.com/control-module/validate Control intervention ### Physically disconnect selected connections under an agreed authority. When your response plan calls for it, the selected path is physically disconnected on a decision by the people or rules you agreed in advance, and stays disconnected until an authorised release. Control Plans Contain ransomware spread: https://fire-vault.com/control-module/fracture Contain a live incident: https://fire-vault.com/control-module/isolate Authorise emergency disconnection: https://fire-vault.com/control-module/fracture#also Where Control applies & Control modules ## IT Control. The Modules that make a difference. A supplier maintains a business application through an access broker. The selected broker-to-application connection is available for the approved job, not for the entire working week. Where do you need Control? **Selected IT access governed** ### Govern the routes into business systems. Isolate defines permitted boundaries, Relay makes a supplier route available for authorised work, and Unlink reduces unnecessary standing connectivity. Existing identity and security systems retain their roles. Commanded Withdraw the selected supplier route outside approved work. Reported by the control point Illustrative supplier path disconnected; permitted business crossing connected. Independently verified Assess alternative routes and independently check state where configured. Explore IT Control (https://fire-vault.com/it-control) Modules in this example **Isolate**Physical network segmentation: https://fire-vault.com/control-module/isolate **Relay**Controlled third-party and remote access: https://fire-vault.com/control-module/relay **Unlink**Standing-connectivity reduction: https://fire-vault.com/control-module/unlink Explore all nine Modules (https://fire-vault.com/control-modules)Explore adoption approaches (https://fire-vault.com/control-plans) Concept illustration. Commanded, reported and independently verified states are shown separately because they are not the same thing, and what can be verified depends on your deployment. Disconnecting a selected path changes what can use that path. On its own, it does not contain an incident across a whole environment, and routes outside the plan, such as wireless or cellular links, need their own controls. Control Blueprints ## Your industry’s connections, mapped and controlled. How IT Control applies in the industries where these connections matter most. Each Blueprint maps real systems, suppliers and operating constraints. Image: Financial Services Blueprint icon (https://fire-vault.com/__l5e/assets-v1/27d76947-6fa4-448c-92e1-3b32f4487ca2/BP-07_financial-services.png) ### Financial Services Transaction networks and trading floors. Read the Financial Services Blueprint (https://fire-vault.com/control-blueprint/banking) Image: Data Centres Blueprint icon (https://fire-vault.com/__l5e/assets-v1/16cbf091-56b4-44ac-8dbd-dad963cfdc9a/BP-10_data-centres.png) ### Data Centres Tenant isolation and cross-connect governance. Read the Data Centres Blueprint (https://fire-vault.com/control-blueprint/colocations) Image: Public Sector Blueprint icon (https://fire-vault.com/__l5e/assets-v1/1ea99bfd-9c30-44f7-992b-645d9f86e46d/BP-16_public-sector.png) ### Public Sector Government services and administrative access. Read the Public Sector Blueprint (https://fire-vault.com/control-blueprint/public-sector) See all industry Blueprints (https://fire-vault.com/control-blueprints) Fourteen Blueprints are published. Each deployment is designed around your own estate. Firevault, as featured in - Read about Firevault on TechRadar Pro: https://www.techradar.com/pro/uk-startup-put-physical-disconnect-switch-in-its-cloud-storage-offering-to-mitigate-ransomware-attacks-but-will-that-be-enough - Read about Firevault on Yahoo Finance: https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/firevault-launches-help-businesses-directors-074500961.html - Read about Firevault on Channel Insider: https://www.channelinsider.com/security/tools-and-platforms/firevault-security-offline-platform-offering/ - Read about Firevault on Security Buyer: https://securitybuyer.com/uk-cybersecurity-startup-launches-firevault/ - Read about Firevault on SecurityBrief: https://securitybrief.com.au/story/firevault-unveils-offline-digital-vault-to-combat-rising-cyber-risks How Control works ## Decisions made by people. Enforced physically. Your tools detect, your people and policies decide, and Control changes the connection state of the selected path. Here is what that rests on. ### Physical enforcement Control changes the connection state of a selected path at Layer 1: connected, or physically disconnected. It does not inspect or alter the traffic on it. ### An independent command path Commands reach each control point over a configured command path, kept separate from the network being controlled. How each point behaves if that path is lost is agreed and tested. ### Authorised changes Who can connect, disconnect or release each path is agreed in advance: named people, more than one approval where it matters, or rules and high-confidence alerts you set. ### Evidence, as configured Commands, approvals and reported states can be recorded for your deployment, so you can show what changed, when, and on whose authority. Before you deploy ## Physical control is an operational decision. Confirm the selected paths, supporting systems and failure behaviour in the actual environment. No generic drawing can substitute for this assessment. 1. **Enterprise applications and shared services**Map DNS, identity, monitoring and backup dependencies before selecting a boundary. 2. **Administrator and privileged access routes**Account for redundant links, remote-access services and alternative supplier routes. 3. **Supplier gateways and access brokers**Keep emergency administration possible through an agreed recovery procedure. 4. **Connections between offices and server environments**Test expiry, command-path loss and reconnection with the application owner. Control governs the selected paths in your plan. It does not inspect traffic, and wireless, cellular and other routes outside the plan need their own controls. ### Straight answers No. They detect, filter and investigate. Control adds a physical way to act on the selected paths when your people, or rules you have agreed, decide to. No. It changes whether a selected path is connected. It does not read or change what travels on it. It can, which is why the dependencies, safe states and restoration steps for each path are agreed and tested with your operations and safety owners before anything goes live. It controls selected connectivity. Disconnecting a path removes the connections an AI system was using and gives people an independent way to intervene. It does not necessarily stop a model or process running locally. No. Control governs connections. Keeping data physically offline is Offline Secure Storage®, a separate Firevault product that can sit alongside Control. Yes. Start with one connection: a supplier route, an IT–OT crossing, or the path to one critical system. Your next step ## Start with one critical connection. Begin with one operational connection. Agree its purpose, intervention authority, dependencies and the checks that make restoration acceptable. 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