Protecting passenger and baggage systems on Europe's busiest hub.
Case overview
Client
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
Industry
Aviation · Critical Infrastructure
Solution
AX-Box Gatekeeper · Non-intrusive OT protection shell
Timeline
2018–present · 8 years operational
Key outcomes
Continuous baggage operations since 2018. AX-Box Gatekeeper live on the handling system
Approximately 200 AX-Box Gatekeeper units operational at Schiphol
Full firmware visibility and rollback capability, with built-in bypass path
TSA-approved for application on 450 US airports
Project facts
- Live since · Schiphol baggage system
- 2018
- System scope · baggage handling
- Baggage
The result of a five-year field-level R&D partnership between aXite and Schiphol's baggage engineering team. Start year as confirmed by aXite.Sources: Computable · 30 May 2023 · in Dutch (opens in a new tab) · IAM Nederland · 27 March 2025 (opens in a new tab)
Schiphol context
- Conveyor network
- 30 km
- Schiphol · baggage basement
- Passengers per year
- 60 M
- Annual throughput · 2024
- Tonnes of cargo per year
- 1.5 M
- Annual cargo volume
Context
One of the three busiest hubs in Europe.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol processes over 60 million passengers and 1.5 million tonnes of cargo each year. Baggage handling is what holds it together. When the conveyors stop, the airport stops. Every flight. Every connection. Every cascade.
The systems responsible are Programmable Logic Controllers certified years before OT cybersecurity existed as a discipline. Changes to controller software and network configuration require assessment against operational, vendor and safety requirements. They were never designed to be protected from the outside.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol · aerial view · baggage basement location
Business impact
Eight years operational at Schiphol.
The platform went live at Schiphol in 2018. Eight years later it is still running. The OT-SOC has continuous visibility across all protected assets. Every vendor session is authenticated and logged before it reaches the PLC. Firmware state is tracked and verified. AX-Box Gatekeeper adds controls around the PLC without requiring changes to its firmware or program; installation and safety requirements are assessed with the operator.
The business case is straightforward: the cost of a single baggage halt at Schiphol, in flights delayed and connections missed, is orders of magnitude greater than the cost of protection.
Partnership timeline
2018
First deployment
Live on the Schiphol baggage handling system · non-intrusive shell operational
2023
Dutch patent granted
NL2028737 · granted 20 January 2023
2023
TSA selection reported
Reported separately from the 2024 approval entry on the Proof page
2023
Technical article
Computable · 30 May 2023 · configuration visibility and control versions on the PLC
2024
Computable Award
Large business project (official category: Grootzakelijk project) · awarded jointly with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol · 27 November 2024
2025
IAM Nederland presentation
Joint baggage-system cybersecurity work shared with the asset-management community · 27 March 2025
The end result
AX-Box Gatekeeper. Born at Schiphol.
The brief that started this partnership: protect the PLC without touching it. Five years of R&D with Schiphol's baggage engineering team produced a patented product. Approximately 200 AX-Box Gatekeeper units are running inside Schiphol's baggage systems today. Beyond Schiphol, AX-Box Gatekeeper has been tested and approved by the TSA for application at US airports.
Patented technology · Non-intrusive OT protection shell · Patent granted
AX-Box Gatekeeper · aXite Security Tools · co-developed with Schiphol · 2018
Industry recognition
Computable Award 2024
Category: Large business project · Awarded jointly with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
The LLCS security deployment at Schiphol was recognised at the Computable Awards 2024 in the category Large Business Project, the Dutch IT industry's most prominent annual award. The jury cited the innovation and safety importance of protecting Low Level Control Systems at mission-critical scale.
“This award is a wonderful recognition of the hard work and dedication of the team and the successful collaboration with Schiphol Airport.”
Schiphol and aXite co-developed a protection layer around the PLC. The 2023 Computable article describes configuration visibility and the ability to restore a previous version.
Computable · 30 May 2023
What’s next
From one hub to many.
The pattern proven at Schiphol is the same pattern that was TSA-approved for application on 450 US airports. The Schiphol deployment continues to expand: additional asset classes, new vendor pathways, deeper integration into the airport-wide OT-SOC.
The AX-Box Gatekeeper, co-developed with Schiphol over five years, is now the foundation for field-level OT protection in aviation and maritime deployments. Each deployment is built on the same principle: protect without touching.
Discuss your deployment