As threats to automation equipment are always changing and evolving, so too is the protection concepts for industrial plants. To address this challenging landscape, Siemens and the International Society of Automation (ISA) have entered a global partnership to foster the awareness for industrial security needs and global standards.

 

Both parties will share expertise in protecting the automation environment based on the IEC 62443 standard and appropriate security measures in the form of events, webinars and further educational material. Together, ISA and Siemens intend to raise awareness and share best practices for industrial security with owner-operators of industrial equipment.

 

"Cyber Security needs to be addressed by industrial companies as recent global ransomware attacks have demonstrated the possible impacts in the last weeks. Our customers need to adequately manage the associated cyber risk, arising from the vulnerabilities of IT technology combined with the increased connectedness in our digital age,” says Henning Rudolf, global head of Siemens Plant Security Services.

 

The ISA Security Compliance Institute (ISCI, www.isasecure.org) operates one of the first standardized assessment schemes for the IEC 62443 IACS cybersecurity standards, and this program has been heavily adopted by Siemens as a leading provider of automation equipment and industrial security services, as well as being a global manufacturing company.

 

Siemens Plant Security Services adhere to the IEC62443 guidelines and are available for existing Siemens customers and third-party equipment, providing a multi-layer protection-level approach, asset inventory and tracking, patch and vulnerability management, network segmentation, industrial security management, incident handling and security consulting services. Siemens also provides a comprehensive Product Computer Emergency Response Team (ProductCERT) for Siemens solutions.

 

Siemens operates several “Cyber Security Operation Centers” (CSOC) for the production of industrial facilities, with joint locations in Lisbon, Munich and Milford (Ohio) in the USA. Siemens industrial security specialists based at these sites monitor industrial facilities all around the world for cyber threats, warn companies in the event of security incidents and coordinate proactive countermeasures. These protective measures are also part of Siemens extensive Plant Security Services.