FEATURE Smart Factories
Minimising IoT cyber- security threats
By Joe Lomako, Business Development Manager (IoT) at TÜV SÜD, a global product testing and certification organisation
I
ndustry 4.0 is seeing a more automated and sophisticated manufacturing process that employs a wealth of new technologies. However, whilst the IoT
introduces signifi cant benefi ts, the critical infrastructure of connected production facilities is open to cyberattacks. Businesses must therefore remain vigilant of the new challenges and take steps to minimise these potential risks, which requires ongoing investment in cybersecurity. Manufacturers can manage cybersecurity risk and mitigate attacks by taking a proactive and holistic security planning approach. This will help them to avoid costly product recalls, design changes and possibly heavy penalties due to any data security breaches. Such preventative security measures should begin at the design phase and use the ‘Secure by Design’ principle. However, without clearly understanding and prioritising risks, it is not possible to determine the appropriate security requirements for the product being manufactured or the manufacturer’s IoT systems. An assessment of the business impact and processes and probability of risks should therefore be conducted. Risks can also be minimised by continuously monitoring the security of the IT infrastructure. For example, it is all too common for companies not to disconnect equipment that is no longer being used. This ‘shadow IT’ creates potential cyberattack gaps, particularly if the software that drives them is no longer supported.
The risks can simply be minimised by monitoring the security of the IT
22 November 2022 | Automation
infrastructure, and decommissioning equipment and software that is no longer required.
Evaluate vulnerabilities After risks are understood, the next step is to evaluate the hardware and software, which is a typical vulnerability surface. Testing of individual components against requirements determined by the risk assessment is the foundation of a secure product. Security is exceedingly diffi cult to install as a software add-on after product development. Every aspect of the product must therefore be assessed for vulnerabilities, including device hardware (chipsets, sensors and actuators), wireless communication modules and protocols, device fi rmware (OS and embedded applications), cloud platforms and applications. An end-to-end and continuous validation process should also be performed to determine the attack resilience of the individual components and support services.
However, it is also important to go beyond embedding security into products, and end-user behaviour should be considered, too. Such an approach includes unintended misuse by the end user and ensures that they are made aware of potential problems. The introduction of the NIS Directive (Security of Network & Information Systems) in Europe is intended to improve the situation. Other standards also exist or are being developed by international organisations. Although it may seem that the standards do not cover everything, they do at least off er that fi rst line of defence, since until fairly recently nothing with a
focused scope previously existed. Manufacturers should also consider their own cybersecurity programmes. For example, a starting point would be: • Think ‘Secure by Design’ and take
a proactive approach to cybersecurity, recognising that attacks are “when, not if”. • Ensure up to date compliance with all
standards.
• Constantly review your cyber- resistance status.
As Industry 4.0 and the IoT advance, systems and installations will become increasingly interconnected on a global scale. Whilst digitisation and the growing connectivity provided by the IoT bring enormous opportunities, unforeseeable risks and serious vulnerabilities can be exploited by cybercrime. Both, industrial system security and the security of wireless products, will therefore become crucial.
Risk assessment and mitigation Cybercriminals rapidly develop new forms of attack to hack into critical IT infrastructure, so keeping up with technological development is of paramount importance. Tackling these problems and risks can only be realised by continuous comprehensive planning, periodic evaluation, updates and monitoring – from design through to obsolescence. Ensure that you are fully up to date with compliance requirements and constantly review your ‘cyber resistance’ status.
CONTACT:
TÜV SÜD
www.tuvsud.com/uk
automationmagazine.co.uk
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