Xona Extends Secure Access Leadership with Enterprise-Scale Governance in v5.4.2 Platform Release

New Centralizer interface, multi-site policy control, and federated identity support deliver secure access at scale for critical infrastructure operations.

HANOVER, Md., Aug. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Xona, the leading provider of secure access for critical infrastructure, today announced the general availability of Xona Platform v5.4.2, a major update that extends centralized control, unified policy enforcement, and scalable auditability across globally distributed operational environments.

Building on its proven foundation of secure, zero-trust access for OT, IT, and hybrid networks, Xona's v5.4.2 release introduces new Xona Centralizer management features to extend existing enterprise-grade visibility and control across multiple Xona deployments. Combined with cross-gateway access groups, expanded identity provider support, and enhanced session governance, the release equips critical infrastructure organizations to scale secure access—without adding complexity or risk.

"For critical infrastructure operators, the challenge has never been just about remote access, it's about consistent policy enforcement, auditability, and control across a growing number of users, sites, and third parties," said Roger Caslow, CISO at HRSD. "What the market needs are solutions that can scale governance as quickly as operations and do it without adding additional risk or complexity."

Platform Enhancements in v5.4.2
The Xona Platform v5.4.2 introduces key capabilities for managing secure access in complex, multi-site environments:

• Xona Centralizer: A new centralized management interface that enables real-time oversight of users, roles, and sessions across multiple deployments—eliminating silos and simplifying governance.
  
  
• Cross-Gateway Group Management: Administrators can define access groups once and apply them universally across distributed gateways, reducing policy drift and configuration overhead.
  
  
• Federated Identity Provider Support: Native multi-domain SAML and LDAP integration simplifies IT/OT convergence and strengthens identity-based zero trust enforcement.
  
  
• Enhanced Role and Time-Based Controls: Fine-grained policy management enables precise access governance by user, site, role, and schedule.
  
  
• Centralized Logging and Session Metadata: Unified activity records and session logs improve incident response and simplify compliance with NERC CIP, IEC 62443, and TSA SD2 mandates.
  
  
• Enhanced Connections: WebGL has been added as an option for connections, allowing customers to take advantage of 3D graphics displays from remote assets.
  
  
• Multi-monitor VNC Support: Users can now leverage remote multi-monitor setups with VNC with pan/zoom to view their applications across multiple displays.
  
  
• Improved UX and Collaboration Tools: Streamlined UI, lower session latency, and enhanced session handoffs support fast, secure collaboration between field users and remote OEMs.
  
  
• Customer Branding: Ability for customers to have customized branding with company logo and favicon support.
  
  
• Cybersecurity Integrations: File uploads can now be automatically checked against the Palo Alto WildFire cloud malware scanner prior to introduction to connected assets.
  
  
• International Keyboard Support: Customers can use their localized keyboard when connecting to Windows-based assets.

Scaling Secure Access for the Modern CI Enterprise
As critical infrastructure organizations expand operations across regions and third-party ecosystems, the need for secure, scalable access control is more urgent than ever. According to recent industry data, more than 88% of industrial organizations cite insecure remote access as a top cyber risk, while ransomware attacks on OT environments have surged over 80% year-over-year.

Xona's v5.4.2 release directly addresses these trends, helping customers:

• Eliminate the need for vulnerable legacy tools like VPNs and jump servers in OT environments with a modern, zero-trust access model purpose-built for critical infrastructure.
  
  
• Maintain consistent policy enforcement across all users—employees, OEMs, contractors—regardless of location.
  
  
• Strengthen compliance readiness with real-time logging, video session recording, and centralized audit controls.

Trusted by Industry Leaders
Leading organizations across multiple industries trust Xona's platform. Global giants such as GE, Baker Hughes, and Mitsubishi Corporation have adopted Xona's secure access solutions to protect their critical infrastructure.

One of Xona's long-standing customers in the power generation sector commented, "Xona has allowed our lean IT team to manage and troubleshoot issues remotely across all our sites. This has reduced the need for costly on-site visits and improved our overall operational efficiency."

"Our customers aren't just securing one plant, one vendor, or one session. They're managing secure access across global fleets of assets, users, and sites. With v5.4.2, we're giving them the tools to govern access at scale with enhanced auditability, operational agility, and enterprise-wide policy control," said Bill Cantrell, Chief Operating Officer at Xona. "This release reflects our mission to deliver secure access that adapts to the operational reality of critical infrastructure—without ever compromising security."

Why Xona Matters in Today's Market
As critical infrastructure industries face increasing digital threats and navigate an evolving regulatory landscape, secure, simple access solutions like Xona's are more critical than ever. The Xona Platform secures critical OT, IT, and cloud environments and supports compliance with leading standards, including IEC 62443, the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), and NERC-CIP by providing required access controls, auditability, and governance capabilities. Xona provides auditability and governance features that simplify the compliance process, all while reducing the operational burden on IT and OT teams.

Take a First Look or Another Look at Xona
For organizations seeking to improve their OT security, now is the time to consider Xona.

Visit our website at www.xonasystems.com to learn more about how the Xona Platform can transform your approach to secure access. Schedule a demo to see firsthand how Xona enables a zero-trust architecture that can reduce your attack surface, simplify operations, and protect your critical assets from today's evolving threats.

About Xona
Xona's mission is to empower the heroes protecting the critical infrastructure (CI) our communities rely on every day. Xona delivers the first secure access for critical infrastructure platform—purpose-built to secure, control, and govern access to the world's most critical systems. Trusted by CI organizations in more than 40 countries, the Xona Platform replaces vulnerable legacy access tools like VPNs and jump servers. It delivers complete user access control, protects critical systems from insecure user endpoints, and ensures compliance with global security mandates, simplifying governance and strengthening operational security.

Media Contact: 
Danielle Ostrovsky
Hi-TouchPR
410-302-9459
[email protected]

SOURCE XONA