As industrial markets evolve to unlock the promise of the Internet of Things (IoT), Rockwell Automation and Cisco announced additions to their Converged Plantwide Ethernet (CPwE) architectures to help operations technology (OT) and information technology (IT) professionals address constantly changing security practices. The latest CPwE security expansions, featuring technology from both companies, include design guidance and validated architectures to help build a more secure network across the plant and enterprise.
The Industrial IoT is elevating the need for highly flexible, secure connectivity between things, machines, work-flows, databases and people, enabling new models of policy-based plant-floor access. Potentially, through these new connections, machine data on the plant floor can be analyzed and applied to determine optimal operation and supply-chain work flows for more efficiencies and cost savings. A securely connected environment also enables organizations to mitigate risk with policy compliance, and protects intellectual property with secure sharing between global stakeholders.
Core to the architectures is a focus on enabling OT and IT professionals to use security policies and procedures by forming multiple layers of defense. A defense-in-depth approach helps manufacturers establish processes and policies that identify and contain evolving threats in industrial automation and control systems.
The CPwE architectures leverage open industry standards, such as IEC 62443, and provide recommendations for securely sharing data across industry, as well as enforcing policies that control access to the plantwide wired or wireless network. “The key to industrial network security is in how you design and implement your infrastructure and holistically address security for internal and external threats,” said Lee Lane, business director, Rockwell Automation.
“Security can’t be an afterthought in today’s plant environment. As we connect more devices and create more efficient ways of operating, we also create vulnerabilities,” said Bryan Tantzen, senior director, Cisco. “These new architectures and guides build on our collaboration by helping organizations recognize and proactively address today’s security concerns.”
Rockwell Automation
rockwellautomation.com
Cisco
Thenetwork.cisco.com
Filed Under: IoT • IIoT • internet of things • Industry 4.0, Networks • connectivity • fieldbuses
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