SCADA

The IT-risks which factory infrastructures are exposed to, require a common view of IT-security and operational technology (OT) protection. In this context, the measures from office IT can only be transferred to the production area and production control to a limited extent. The requirements and protection goals for the equipment used and the networking between these components are too different. An integrated approach and continuous management of IT security helps to identify and implement targeted measures in a concerted manner.

Trends such as Industry 4.0 or the Internet of Things lead to increased networking and integration of various data in the production. At the same time, the increased networking posses challenges regarding security issues. Negative examples involve the unsecured connection of various programmable logic controllers (PLCs) that are reachable through the Internet. In part, but also inadvertently, there are additional risks for the production plant. The reasons are the comfortable maintenance of plants as well as using external support for complex problems.