Security for networked industrial machinery

As the focus on Industry 4.0 increases, so must the security of plant and machinery and their regulation, control and monitoring systems. Cyber attacks are becoming more frequent and more damaging, and to respond to this, iT-CUBE SYSTEMS AG and TÜViT have established a cooperation under the banner of “Security for networked industrial plant and equipment”. Based on their combined competence in the area of ICS security, the cooperation partners have already starting working with their first clients.

Digitisation is revolutionising industry all over the world. Industrial plant and machinery operate increasingly within networks, as do critical infrastructures (KRITIS) such as electricity and water supplies, traffic control technology and facility management. Networking and data exchange mean that Industry 4.0 can really be used to advantage - to improve the competitiveness of Germany as a high-wage economy, for example. However, it does mean that there are greater opportunities for cyber attack.

More and more manufacturers and operators of extended SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) and IC (Industrial Control) systems are reporting an increase in cyber attacks. This is not surprising, as the control, regulation and monitoring systems of production and manufacturing plant and also of logistics service providers were primarily developed with function and reliability in mind. Possible integration into a networked world was not originally part of the picture.

Based on the growing importance of Industry 4.0, iT-CUBE and TÜViT have launched a cooperation entitled “Security for networked industrial plant and equipment”. As Antonius Sommer, Managing Director of TÜViT explains: “The focus of our initiative is on protection of robots, production cells and industrial control systems against infiltration, manipulation, sabotage and rogue software.”

Each cooperation partner concentrates on its specific role within the project: TÜViT performs the tasks of the independent auditor and certifier, and has developed an analytical procedure for efficient investigation of ICS infrastructures according to international standards. This procedure enables the auditors to examine systems for attack vectors and weaknesses at several levels of investigative depth.

iT-CUBE takes the role of planner, system integrator and operator. Based on the TÜViT analysis and test results, the company develops concepts for protection of the infrastructures together with the client. ICS security system specialists with a wide-ranging portfolio of solutions are available in order to achieve this, starting from network segmentation through access control, data diodes and data flow monitoring up to scanning of weak points and anomaly recognition. This allows solution scenarios to be put in place which significantly raise the security level without the need for intervention in the system or changes to the network topology.

In their first joint projects, including within the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, the cooperation partners impressed with their bundled competence in the area of ICS Security. The immediate benefit to the client is clear, as the assessment is followed by a concept for a solution.

Management Board Chairman of iT CUBE, Andreas Merz, explains: “Clients benefit from the competence of an independent assessment body which is recognised the world over and from the orchestration of solution components by a system integrator that has been active on the security market for 14 years.”