Taking steps to protect connected industrial infrastructure
By: Gavin Coulthard, Systems Engineering Manager for Australia and New Zealand, Palo Alto Networks Networked devices and computer-controlled machines are nothing new in the manufacturing industry, but the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) is seeing an unprecedented number of devices connected to the internet for monitoring and control purposes. There are applications for IoT devices in almost every industry, and the manufacturing sector has much to gain from this technology. In many ways, the industrial control and automation systems commonly used in manufacturing processes have, for a long time, acted as precursors to the connected devices that are now available to consumers. However, today’s development of IoT technology delivers new capabilities for businesses as well as individuals. These connected devices and systems can offer better management of industrial control systems (ICS). IoT technology supports a granular quality of control and monitoring data, which can benefit supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems or distributed control systems and, in fact, any industrial automation system. We’re talking about large volumes of sometimes very complex data. When used well, IoT technology provides an extremely useful tool. While these new capabilities can lend enormous value to manufacturers, they also come with new problems. First among these is the issue of information security. Mixing operational technology systems and information technology systems by way of IoT devices increases an organisation’s threat surface and opens up new ways for hackers to breach sensitive organisational networks. In some organisations, this can result in data and financial losses. But for manufacturers, it can lead to infrastructure and reputational damage, and even open up the possibility of personal harm to workers. In 2010, for example, centrifuges at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility failed due to malware called Stuxnet. Now considered a cyber weapon, Stuxnet has since been followed by […]