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any users in the process industry have so far paid little attention to the topic of cyber security. Either because they still think it is the IT department’s job or
because they do not feel directly threatened. However both these attitudes are a little negligent. For one thing, IT security should always be a joint task between IT and OT. And for another, digital networking is forging ahead rapidly in the process industry. Concepts such as NOA (NAMUR Open Architecture), MTP (Modular Type Package) or Ethernet-APL (Advanced Physical Layer) are being deployed more and more. All of this opens up new avenues into the previously self- contained automation level and offers, at least theoretically, a convenient entryway for attacks.
THE DANGERS OF DIGITAL NETWORKING Modern, integrated automation solutions simplify handling and make processes more flexible and efficient. However, due to this open-endedness, process automation engineers have begun to focus more and more on the issue of security. Here, there is just one concrete number to
emphasise the vulnerability: according to the industry association Bitkom e. V., the German economy suffers a loss of around €203 billion every year through the theft of IT equipment and proprietary data as well as through espionage and sabotage. Especially problematic is the fact that cyber adversaries can be quite different in nature: they can range from individual ‘script kiddies’, to criminals or even nation states. Such attacks are still rare in the process industry; however, operators of power plants, fuel tanks or equipment in the water industry have recently been given a wake-up call. Because what is often neglected: any attacks on IT can affect OT areas very quickly.
THE ADVANTAGES OF WIRELESS COMMUNICATION Nevertheless, this new open-endedness offers numerous advantages for users. For example, level sensors provide important data across many different areas of industrial activity. Process data is thus available at all locations, allowing worldwide inventory management (Vendor Managed Inventory). Sensors from VEGA, for example, have been supplying critical data to higher-level systems for many years, such as level data from road salt silos along motorways or production data from flour mills, for the purpose of optimising raw material logistics. Motorway maintenance depots and mills can thus rely on their storage facilities being automatically filled with road salt or grain. Incidentally, VEGA started this development long before Industry 4.0 became a topic. The development of wireless communication
with Bluetooth has once again increased the use of such applications. Bluetooth makes adjustment and commissioning of sensors and controllers easier, which, in many cases, also
SECURE lEVEl mEASUREmENT TEChNOlOGY
helps avoid situations where accidents can occur. No matter where the level data originates from – whether huge towering silos, external measuring points like distant stormwater overflow basins, potentially explosive environments or complex, labyrinthine processing plants – VEGA sensors make it available where it is needed. Wireless data transmission is also used to retrieve status information from the sensors, for example, to report maintenance requirements or to request an update. Downtime can be significantly reduced this way. Yet from a cyber security perspective, there
are challenges: such data is increasingly being bundled into production and maintenance systems so that it can then be further processed in the office or control room. This creates discontinuities between operational and security functions.
HOLISTIC SECURITY CONCEPT FOR VEGAPULS 6X For that reason, VEGA put great effort into achieving certification as per IEC 62443-4-2 while it was developing its new star product, the radar level gauge VEGAPULS 6X. This international series of standards provides a flexible framework for systematically assessing, evaluating and implementing security standards. Security requirements for hardware as well as software are defined by its guidelines. It is aimed at plant builders and plant operators as well as component manufacturers like VEGA. The entire development process of
VEGAPULS 6X was therefore geared to the IT security standard IEC 62443-4-2. It included, among other things, an analysis of possible threats right from the start in order to identify weak points at an early stage and develop countermeasures during development. All of this, by the way, had to do not only with the security of the device, but with a company’s entire production process. This work was supervised by the independent institution TU
Nord, which put every measure to the test. The safety measures start with the
encapsulated electronics of VEGAPULS 6X, which prevents manipulation. Built in is also a so-called Defense-in-Depth strategy, i.e. a tiered security concept that consists of several IT security layers. The concept includes production equipment security, network security and the security strategies of the various system components. For VEGAPULS 6X, it means protection against threats such as: data
10 CONNECTING INDUSTRY 20Th ANNIVERSARY EDITION
manipulation (violation of integrity); denial of Service “DoS” (violation of availability); and espionage (violation of confidentiality). The instrument has additional security
features, including user authentication, event memory (logging), firmware integrity checks, and data backup for recovery.
WHAT HAPPENS IN A WORST-CASE SCENARIO? When defending against a cyber-attack, time is of the essence. All companies should make appropriate preparations, which include drawing up a clearly defined emergency plan to ensure that valuable time is not wasted if worst comes to worst. It also includes making plans on how to rebuild a secure system in case severe damage is done. At VEGA, the PSIRT – Product Security Incident Response Team – stands ready at all times to help. These experts continuously search for any vulnerabilities, provide assistance with updates and patches, answer customer questions and immediately take action in critical situations, for example if a user discovers a vulnerability. At the same time, VEGA works closely with CERT@VDE, an IT security platform for industrial companies, in reporting and investigating vulnerabilities. For decades now, VEGA level sensors have
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been making it easier for users to monitor their industrial processes. With VEGAPULS 6X, the user does not have to worry about the area of application, the technology involved, the frequency or version of the sensor – all it takes is just a few mouse clicks to put it into operation. VEGA also tries to make everything as simple as possible when it comes to cyber security. It is certainly true that VEGA cannot exempt the plant operator from all responsibility; after all, cyber security is an ongoing dynamic process that requires constant attention. VEGA does, however, support the operator in this effort. This help includes: encouraging the operator to apply the measures mentioned in the security guidelines, which enable him to use the sensor correctly and securely. Additional tips on how to make a production system even more secure are provided in the security guidelines document. Users are therefore optimally prepared.
VEGA Controls
www.vega.com 01444 870055
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