--- title: "Isolate Your Management Plane | Control" description: "Protect your most critical management plane. Physically isolate access to firewall consoles, hypervisor controls, and core network infrastructure. See how." lang: en-GB json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://fire-vault.com/#organization", "name": "Firevault", "legalName": "Firevault Limited", "url": "https://fire-vault.com", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://fire-vault.com/logo.png", "width": 200, "height": 60 }, "foundingDate": "2025-03", "description": "Protect what matters with Offline Secure Storage and control what moves with Control by Firevault. Physically disconnected, always reachable by you.", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressCountry": "GB", "addressLocality": "United Kingdom" }, "contactPoint": [ { "@type": "ContactPoint", "contactType": "customer service", "email": "hello@fire-vault.com", "availableLanguage": "English", "areaServed": [ "GB", "EU", "US", "AE" ] } ], "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/company/firevault", "https://x.com/firevaultuk" ], "slogan": "Disconnect to Protect", "knowsAbout": [ "Offline Secure Storage", "Physical Air Gap Data Protection", "Ransomware Protection", "Data Sovereignty", "GDPR Compliance", "NIS2 Compliance" ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://fire-vault.com/#website", "name": "Firevault", "alternateName": [ "Firevault", "Firevault UK", "Firevault Limited" ], "url": "https://fire-vault.com", "publisher": { "@id": "https://fire-vault.com/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-GB", "description": "Protect what matters with Offline Secure Storage and control what moves with Control by Firevault. Physically disconnected, always reachable by you.", "potentialAction": { "@type": "SearchAction", "target": { "@type": "EntryPoint", "urlTemplate": "https://fire-vault.com/learn?q={search_term_string}" }, "query-input": "required name=search_term_string" } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://fire-vault.com/control-for-management-plane#webpage", "url": "https://fire-vault.com/control-for-management-plane", "name": "Isolate Your Management Plane", "description": "Protect your most critical management plane. Physically isolate access to firewall consoles, hypervisor controls, and core network infrastructure. See how.", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://fire-vault.com/#website" }, "about": { "@id": "https://fire-vault.com/#organization" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://fire-vault.com/images/og/og-base-platform.jpg" }, "inLanguage": "en-GB", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://fire-vault.com/control-for-management-plane#breadcrumb" } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://fire-vault.com/control-for-management-plane#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://fire-vault.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Isolate Your Management Plane", "item": "https://fire-vault.com/control-for-management-plane" } ] } ] --- Recent Breaches Breaches [2026 PowerSchool 62.4M records ](/learn/breaches)[2026 DISA Global Solutions 3.3M records ](/learn/breaches)[2026 Globe Life 850K records ](/learn/breaches)[2026 Lidl GB Customer contact data ](/learn/breaches)[2026 Asahi Group Production systems disrupted ](/learn/breaches)[2026 Kido International 8K records ](/learn/breaches)[2026 Collins Aerospace (RTX) Check-in and boarding disruptio... ](/learn/breaches)[2026 Jaguar Land Rover Production and IT systems disru... ](/learn/breaches)[2026 Peter Green Chilled Order and logistics data ](/learn/breaches)[2026 Adidas UK Customer contact details ](/learn/breaches)[2026 PowerSchool 62.4M records ](/learn/breaches)[2026 DISA Global Solutions 3.3M records ](/learn/breaches)[2026 Globe Life 850K records ](/learn/breaches)[2026 Lidl GB Customer contact data ](/learn/breaches)[2026 Asahi Group Production systems disrupted ](/learn/breaches)[2026 Kido International 8K records ](/learn/breaches)[2026 Collins Aerospace (RTX) Check-in and boarding disruptio... ](/learn/breaches)[2026 Jaguar Land Rover Production and IT systems disru... ](/learn/breaches)[2026 Peter Green Chilled Order and logistics data ](/learn/breaches)[2026 Adidas UK Customer contact details ](/learn/breaches) [View All →](/learn/breaches) [![Firevault - offline secure storage, physically disconnected from the internet](/assets/logo-color-DBVl0KCg.png)](/) Products Solutions [Why OSS](/why-oss) More [Help](/help)[Get started](/get-started) Threat Response # Protect Infrastructure Through Management Plane Isolation When an attacker reaches the management plane, they control everything. Physical separation between management interfaces and production networks ensures that compromise of one does not mean compromise of all. Schedule a Demo[Back to Control](/solutions/control) ![Corridor of offline storage racks inside a Firevault bunker](/assets/hero-square-bunker-B6Y7Qt9r.jpg) Exposure How it worksExplore moreQuestions The exposure in numbers 01 Of network breaches involve management plane access 78% Of network breaches involve management plane access 02 Management interfaces reachable from production networks Zero Management interfaces reachable from production networks 03 Separation between management and data planes Physical Separation between management and data planes 04 Administrative sessions on tamper-proof audit trail 100% Administrative sessions on tamper-proof audit trail The Threat ## The management plane is the keys to the kingdom. 01 ### Shared Network Paths Management interfaces for switches, firewalls, and servers share the same physical network as production traffic. An attacker on the production network can reach management interfaces through lateral movement. 02 ### Credential Harvesting Administrative credentials captured through phishing or credential stuffing provide direct access to management interfaces, allowing attackers to reconfigure security controls and disable monitoring. 03 ### Configuration Tampering Once on the management plane, attackers modify firewall rules, disable logging, create backdoor accounts, and reconfigure routing to maintain persistent access and exfiltrate data. Threat Response > If your management plane is reachable from your production network, your security controls are only as strong as the weakest credential on that network. Physical separation makes the management plane disconnected regardless of what credentials an attacker holds. The Scenario ### Scenario: Management Plane Takeover An attacker compromises a web application server in a financial services firm and discovers that the management interface for the core firewall is reachable from the same network segment. Using a known vulnerability in the firewall management portal, they gain administrative access and disable the IDS, modify ACLs to allow data exfiltration, and create a persistent backdoor. The security team's monitoring tools show nothing because the attacker disabled the alerts from the management plane. With Control, the firewall management interface exists on a physically separate network. The attacker on the compromised web server has no path to the management plane, regardless of what vulnerabilities they discover or what credentials they harvest. "They owned our firewall for three weeks. Every log, every alert, every rule was under their control. We did not know because the first thing they did was disable the monitoring from the management plane." Management plane abuse ## How Control removes the management plane as a single failure point. If an attacker takes the management plane, they take the rules. Control places enforcement in the physical conduit, not in a console, so a compromised admin tier cannot quietly relax the boundary. Mapped to ATT&CK T1098 Account Manipulation, T1556 Authentication Modification, NIST SP 800-53 AC and IEC 62443-3-3 SR 1, SR 2 and SR 5. 1. ST 01 Admin Tier Foothold TA0001 ◤ Attacker Lands on a privileged workstation or steals a credential with reach into the management console. ◢ Control breaks it Access to the management tier requires a named, time-bound session. There is no standing path from corporate IT to the console. ![FV-Lock module icon](/assets/lock-icon-UU3vOaKE.png)Lock ![FV-Relay module icon](/assets/relay-icon-CVhJDRO7.png)Relay ✕ Break here 2. ST 02 Policy and Rule Tampering T1098 ◤ Attacker Edits firewall rules, IAM bindings or change-management gates so future malicious activity looks legitimate. ◢ Control breaks it Boundary enforcement is physical, not policy. A rule change in a console cannot open a conduit that has been severed. ![FV-Firebreak module icon](/assets/firebreak-icon-7zSCkB1t.png)Firebreak ![FV-Isolate module icon](/assets/isolate-icon-B9t8fl3o.png)Isolate ✕ Break here 3. ST 03 Evidence Tampering T1070 ◤ Attacker Deletes or alters logs, audit trails and detection signals to hide the work already done. ◢ Control breaks it Audit and config artefacts are pushed to the offline vault. Once captured, they are out of the attacker's reach. ![FV-Archive module icon](/assets/archive-icon-B3rc85NY.png)Archive ![FV-Validate module icon](/assets/vault-icon-CD3Pv4ri.png)Validate ✕ Break here 4. ST 04 Wide Blast Action TA0040 ◤ Attacker Pushes a destructive change from the management console out to every connected system at once. ◢ Control breaks it The Firebreak severs all governed conduits on alert. The console can issue the change, but the path to apply it is gone. ![FV-Firebreak module icon](/assets/firebreak-icon-7zSCkB1t.png)Firebreak ![FV-Execute module icon](/assets/execute-icon-kJl5Gtmk.png)Execute Outcome · outcome block Compromising the management plane no longer means owning the environment. Physical enforcement keeps the boundary even when the console lies. Modules & symbols ![FV-Lock module icon](/assets/lock-icon-UU3vOaKE.png)Lock Named access ![FV-Relay module icon](/assets/relay-icon-CVhJDRO7.png)Relay Time-bound path ![FV-Firebreak module icon](/assets/firebreak-icon-7zSCkB1t.png)Firebreak Physical sever ![FV-Isolate module icon](/assets/isolate-icon-B9t8fl3o.png)Isolate Zone boundary ![FV-Archive module icon](/assets/archive-icon-B3rc85NY.png)Archive Disconnected copy ![FV-Validate module icon](/assets/vault-icon-CD3Pv4ri.png)Validate Integrity check ![FV-Execute module icon](/assets/execute-icon-kJl5Gtmk.png)Execute Approved action ✕ Break here Chain severed by Firevault ◤ Attacker step MITRE ATT&CK tactic Featured In [![TechRadar Pro logo](/press/techradar-pro-logo.svg) ](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 TechRadar Pro") [![Yahoo Finance logo](/assets/yahoo-finance-logo-white-aNkUpCH7.png) ](https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/firevault-launches-help-businesses-directors-074500961.html "Read about Firevault on Yahoo Finance") [![Channel Insider logo](/assets/channel-insider-logo-white-CFFo4iu7.png) ](https://www.channelinsider.com/security/tools-and-platforms/firevault-security-offline-platform-offering/ "Read about Firevault on Channel Insider") [![Security Buyer logo](/assets/security-buyer-logo-white-o6oIaBWz.png) ](https://securitybuyer.com/uk-cybersecurity-startup-launches-firevault/ "Read about Firevault on Security Buyer") [![SecurityBrief logo](data:image/png;base64,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) ](https://securitybrief.com.au/story/firevault-unveils-offline-digital-vault-to-combat-rising-cyber-risks "Read about Firevault on SecurityBrief") Capabilities ## What you get with every deployment 01 ### Physical Plane Separation Management and production traffic exist on physically separate networks. No VLAN, no firewall rule, no ACL. Separate physical infrastructure. 02 ### Controlled Management Access Administrative sessions require multi-party authorisation and are confined to time-bound windows with full session recording. 03 ### Credential Isolation Administrative credentials are bound to the management plane network. They cannot be used from production network paths even if compromised. 04 ### Emergency Lockdown A single authorised command physically severs all management plane access, preserving production operations with the current configuration. 05 ### Immutable Configuration History Every configuration change is recorded on physically disconnected storage, providing a tamper-proof audit trail and rollback capability. 06 ### Compliance Evidence Physical management plane separation maps directly to ISO 27001, NIS2, and NIST CSF requirements for administrative access control. Demo to Live ## Adoption Guide Step 1 #### Management Plane Audit Map every management interface, administrative path, and credential that can reach network infrastructure management from the production network. Step 2 #### Plane Separation Design Design physically separate management and production networks with controlled access points, multi-party authorisation requirements, and session recording policies. Step 3 #### Core Infrastructure Pilot Deploy management plane isolation for core network infrastructure (firewalls, core switches), testing administrative workflows and emergency lockdown procedures. Step 4 #### Full Infrastructure Deployment Extend to all managed infrastructure with automated session governance, tamper-proof logging, and continuous compliance evidence generation. Step 1 #### Management Plane Audit Map every management interface, administrative path, and credential that can reach network infrastructure management from the production network. Step 2 #### Plane Separation Design Design physically separate management and production networks with controlled access points, multi-party authorisation requirements, and session recording policies. Step 3 #### Core Infrastructure Pilot Deploy management plane isolation for core network infrastructure (firewalls, core switches), testing administrative workflows and emergency lockdown procedures. Step 4 #### Full Infrastructure Deployment Extend to all managed infrastructure with automated session governance, tamper-proof logging, and continuous compliance evidence generation. [Organise a Demo](/contact) ## Explore More [ ### Insider Threat Mitigation Remove persistent access outside operational windows. Learn more about Insider Threat Mitigation ](/control-for-insider-threat)[ ### IT/OT Convergence Physically separate IT from operational technology. Learn more about IT/OT Convergence ](/control-for-it-ot-convergence)[ ### FV-Isolate Network segmentation and boundary enforcement. Learn more about FV-Isolate ](/control/modules/isolate) Questions ## Frequently Asked How do administrators access management interfaces? What happens to production services during a management lockdown? Does this require replacing existing network infrastructure? How does this protect against insider threats on the management network?