Fall 2017 issue of Horizons

The data being transmitted, created and collected from modern manufacturing is susceptible to disruption and corruption, including replacement with fake data as well as theft of the information. Recent events have demonstrated improperly secured Internet of Things devices can be hijacked and used to cause problems across the world. The IIoT is subject to the same kind of hijacking and misuse if left exposed to the internet without proper precautions. Some of the challenges are basic, for example changing default passwords, but keeping hundreds or thousands of devices up-to-date with configuration changes and patches can become cumbersome very quickly. The devices themselves can also be disrupted by overloading them with too much data, causing mini-outages that can cause cascading problems in the manufacturing flow. Isolating from the internet if possible and consciously addressing security configurations as devices are deployed The traffic between devices can also be affected by corrupting, intercepting, replacing or even stealing data. Encrypting traffic between devices requires additional hardware or software, management and configuration work, so most industrial devices forego encryption. The downside to foregoing encryption is that it can be used to check the integrity of the data transmission, validate if the sender is legitimate and make it very difficult to sniff the data as it transits a network connection. Ideally the devices should be isolated onto an industrial control systems network, limiting the amount of data traffic in the area and isolating the data communications from outsiders. Strong consideration should be given to encrypting the traffic both to protect the confidentiality of the data and to add a layer of integrity checking to the underlying data transmission. are important to protecting the manufacturing environment.

the Industrial Internet of Things, continues to link manufacturing technologies together – not just in a single shop or building, but across geographic areas and organizations

Disruptive technologies may fundamentally change the supply chain, customization capabilities or the manufacturing processes, but they will still use your data and your private business information to effectively operate and deliver value to your clients. Every solution needs to consider what level of confidentiality (authentication and encryption), integrity (encryption and error checking) and availability (both up-time and recoverability) are needed for the type of manufacturing. You must also consider the exposure to external networks, key interfaces and communications points with other solutions as well as the people allowed to access the solution and information. Consider the following recommendations from the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations: ∙ Implement application whitelisting – Can detect and help prevent attempted execution of malware uploaded by adversaries ∙ Ensure proper configuration/patch management – Safe importation and implementation of trusted patches can help keep systems secure ∙ Reduce your attack surface area – Isolate systems from untrusted networks and disable unused ports and services ∙ Build a defendable environment – Segment networks into logical enclaves and restrict machine-to-machine communication paths

Fall 2017

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