Flow Control - Jan 2012
news notes plant in South Houston Texas Although Stuxnet wasnt the culprit these isolated incidences perhaps raise important questions about actions to prevent future cyber attacks of this nature After Stuxnet Langill says it can be difficult to pinpoint exactly what has been done to protect vital infrastructure since the sectors that utilize industrial automation and control systems are so broad One thing is for sure we have not done enough But this is not to say that nothing has been done he says Vendors like Siemens learned from Stuxnet and have launched aggressive product development initiatives to introduce hardware and software solutions that can help prevent similar attacks in the future Entities like ISA Security Compliance Institute isasecure org and Wurldtech wurldtech com are also working to help develop standards for certifying equipment that provide a certain level of cyber security protection Langill says The ISA SP99 committee on which Langill serves as a voting member is also actively working to ratify and release several new standards aimed at addressing cyber security within manufacturing sectors Langill is currently on a work group within ISA99 as well which is specifically evaluating the ISA99 standards and how they would have stood up against an attack like Stuxnet Think Like a Hacker One of the biggest misconceptions about cyber war or cyber security is not if there will be an attack but when The threat surface is so vast that no one enterprise is exempt Langill says Therefore it is important to look at security from a broad perspective installing not only cyber prevention measures but also implement measures that can detect an attack once it occurs Because of the massive investment in legacy equipment that is already installed and in operation across most industrial sectors Langill says companies should go back to the basics and begin by assessing their current control systems identifying gaps that could lead to the exploitation of vulnerabilities and then implement a strategy to correct the deficiencies through various security controls that can provide a form of defense in depth offering multiple protective layers much like the cliché beltand suspenders If industrial facilities are to begin to defend their automation systems from future cyber attacks they will need to do things differently than they have done in the past Langill says Companies need to begin to think like a hacker and address security from this direction looking at ways to actively monitor their control systems and detect abnormalities that could be the precursor to a cyber attack Amy W Richardson is the managing editor of Flow Control magazine Contact her at ARichardson@ GrandViewMedia com Together we can manage your process flow even under extreme conditions The Porter 3600 Series Severe Duty MFC with industry standard connectors makes installation quick and easy Our newest digital gas flow controller series features IP66 and NEMA 4X enclosures for washdown applications as well as Class 1 Div 2 and ATEX IECex Zone 2 classifications for hazardous locations Porter 3600 Series MFCs are the first to use plug in connectors instead of pass through cable glands for hazardous applications ensuring simple installation without difficult in field wiring Along with these benefits youll get the responsive support and on time delivery that Porter Instrument Division is known for We make finding the right flow controller extremely easy at PorterInstrument com Circle 6 or Request Info Instantly at www FlowControlNetwork com 8 January 2012 Flow Control Washdown Ad 2 indd 1 12 21 11 4 38 PM
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