"Intruder Alert" only part of plant-floor security picture, says Automation Fair panel
By Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 12/1/2004 12:00:00 AM
It's not just about the hackers.
This was the message at the Vulnerability Management for Manufacturing panel discussion at Manufacturing Perspectives 2004, part of this year's Automation Fair, the annual gathering of Rockwell Automation customers and business partners.
Instead, the panel of security experts from Rockwell, Cisco Systems, and DuPont put the issue of plant-floor security into the larger context of risk management across the enterprise.
According to the panel, any point in the production process where a potential safety issue arises presents a security issue. And the unintended consequences of actions by "well-intentioned people"—including accidents that cause physical harm, environmental damage, a hit in terms of reputation, or, last but not least, lost production—also are part of the total security picture.
The current trend toward real-time connectivity on the plant floor increases the complexity of security issues, says Darrin Miller, critical infrastructure assurance group, Cisco Systems. Plant-floor and enterprise connectivity systems that formerly were considered safe because they were stand-alone and proprietary now are part of larger, more accessible networks. To reap the gains that real-time connectivity implies, companies have to rethink what security means, Miller adds.
In an interview following the panel discussion, Mike Bush, program manager for Rockwell's Automation Control & Information Group, explained the company's multiprong approach to addressing customer security concerns.
Through its industrial networking organization, Rockwell is adding a security component to its network design services, helping companies to deploy firewalls, write procedures, and form policies. It offers some products—such as a security-enabled administrative console for control systems—but "the real important thing we're doing is building security into our products, and also working closely with partners such as Intel and Cisco Systems to develop secure information and networking products for the plant floor," Bush says. Finally, beginning in the first quarter of next year, the company will conduct a series of seminars across the country on security issues. The goal of the seminars is to raise awareness of security issues among plant-floor personnel, and to bridge the "language gap" between IT and operations staff that can impede development of a secure manufacturing system.
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