Secure your installation with KNX Secure

KNX Secure products by Lingg &Janke ensure maximum security for KNX installations

The KNX world is starting into a new era – the age of digital encryption. We at Lingg & Janke wish to accompany you on the way into the new era and support your KNX projects with our products complying with the latest KNX Secure Standard.

What is KNX Secure? KNX Secure is the systematic further development of the KNX standard. Until now, all data transmitted on the KNX bus were open and readable for anyone having access to this KNX bus, thus permitting manipulation. This is no longer possible with KNX Secure. Data security and privacy can now also be realized in state-of-the-art electrical installations. In the KNX standard, KNX Secure is divided into KNX IP Security and KNX Data Security. KNX IP Security is used when KNX telegrams are transmitted via KNX IP line or area couplers and KNX IP gateways. For all other KNX bus subscribers, KNX Data Security is used, e.g. for „standard“ KNX devices connected to a twisted pair line. Accordingly, KNX Data Security is used by almost all Lingg & Janke KNX products.

How does KNX Data Security work?

KNX telegrams mainly consist of two parts: an address and controller part (source address, destination address, telegram type) and a data part (switching value, temperature value or device parameter, etc.)
KNX Data Security only encrypts the data part. This has the benefit that by using the source and destination address, the telegram can be routed via the line and area coupler from the sender to the receiver without the necessity of decrypting and encrypting it in each of the couplers. This permits conventional programming interfaces (USB and IP) as well as standard line and area couplers to be used in paired-wire KNX installations. However, the couplers must be able to process long-frame telegrams. The data part of an encrypted KNX telegram is slightly longer than the data part of a conventional KNX telegram. To avoid an encrypted KNX telegram (e.g. „Blinds up“) being applied multiple times by repetition, the data part is assigned a new number each time it is sent. This sequential number is transmitted unencrypted, but is included in the data encryption. If a sequential number is already known by a recipient, any telegram with the same number will no longer be accepted and will therefore not be executed. Data content is secured, and there are also protective safeguarding mechanisms against data repetition.

KNX SECURE Products by Lingg & Janke

KNX Secure is already available for more and more KNX devices from Lingg & Janke. On the one hand, transmitted data is reliably protected and, on the other hand, the KNX protocol is secured by encryption and authentication.