CC-Link IE have created a security working group to better both physical and cybersecurity measure at plants. According to the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA), with the convergence of IT and OT, plant staff must now also contend with IT security threats.
“From the factory system point of view, it is said that the priority of protection requirements is availability, integrity, and confidentiality,” writes Robert Miller, director of the CLPA-Americas. “Another difference from IT systems is ‘the human factor.’ Personnel are in a plant floor to manufacture, maintain, or manage the plant. The role and the authorization assigned to personnel related to a target plant system should also be considered.”
The CLPA security working group will focus on network security. “Especially when the user adopts the SeamLess Message Protocol (SLMP) and CC-Link IE Field Basic where general IP communication is used for both cyclic and transient communications,” writes Miller. The group will also create a guideline document for secure network design which will be based on IEC62443 and the defense-in-depth security approach.
The CC-Link Partner Association Ethernet Security Working Group includes participation from Cisco Systems, Hilscher, Mitsubishi Electric, HMS, Belden-Hirschmann, MOXA, Panduit and MIND.
The CLPA says the “defense in depth” concept, which combines multiple measures must be taken into account. The concept includes system security architecture, physical access control, industrial network security access control, integrity, and confidentiality and security monitoring.
