Method and apparatus for the repercussion-free capture of data

An apparatus for the repercussion-free capture of data from at least one device, which is arranged in a first network having a high security requirement, in a second network having a low security requirement, containing

• a requesting unit which is arranged inside the first network and is designed to request data from the at least one device according to a request profile,
• an eavesdropping unit which is arranged inside the first network and is designed to eavesdrop data which have been transmitted from the at least one device in response to the request, wherein the eavesdropping unit cannot transmit any messages to the at least one device and cannot transmit any messages to the requesting unit, and to transmit said data into an evaluation unit,
• an evaluation unit which is arranged in the second network and is designed to compare the eavesdropped data with the data expected according to the request profile, and
• an alarm unit which is designed to provide an alarm signal if the eavesdropped data differ from the data expected according to the request profile, the request profile containing predetermined requests and a timing scheme of when these requests are intended to be sent to the at least one device in the first network,
• wherein neither the eavesdropping unit nor the second network change the data transmitted in the first network, generate new data in the first network, or otherwise influence the first network.

A computer program product, comprising a computer readable hardware storage device having computer readable program code stored therein, said program code executable by a processor of a computer system to implement a method for the repercussion-free capture of data from at least one device, which is arranged in a first network having a high security requirement, into a second network having a low security requirement, the method comprising:

• requesting the data from the at least one device according to a request profile by means of a requesting unit which is arranged inside the first network,
• eavesdropping the data transmitted from the at least one device to the requesting unit in response to the request inside the first network by means of an eavesdropping unit, wherein the eavesdropping unit cannot transmit any messages to the at least one device and cannot transmit any messages to the requesting unit,
• transmitting the data to the second network,
• comparing, within the second network, the eavesdropped data with the data expected according to the request profile,
• providing an alarm signal if the eavesdropped data differ from the data expected according to the request profile, the request profile containing predetermined requests and a timing scheme of when these requests are intended to be sent to the at least one device in the first network,
• wherein during the requesting, eavesdropping, and transmitting steps, neither the eavesdropping unit nor the second network change the data transmitted in the first network, generate new data in the first network, or otherwise influence the first network.