Industrial Networking – Securing Your Facility’s Communications

It might sound cliché that cybersecurity is important in industrial environments, but with the level of connectivity that started in the 1990s – industrial control systems (ICS) have never been more connected than they are today.  The good news is, it’s easy to find the right network equipment, but the harder part is deploying them or re-architecting networks.

So, for the audience, at work or conferences you might hear phases or terminology such as: the Perdue model, network layers, ISA95, ISA/IEC62443, Deep-Packet-Inspection (DPI), NAT routers, industrial firewalls, network threats, and “passive anomaly detection”.  But what does it all mean to you?  Does it add more risk than security or is it a fundamental part of any project (including building machine skids or cells)?  If you program PLCs, write ladder logic, engineer solutions, or are a facilities electrician – this session is for both you and other experts (including networking professionals).

This session will introduce the audience to:

• The basics of industrial networking and packets
• Network layers and Purdue model/ISA95 reference architectures
• ISA/IEC 62443 network security concepts (zones and conduits)
• Deep-Packet-Inspection vs. other networking devices (including firewalls)
• Industrial wireless, OPC/UA Gateways, and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
• Modern reference network designs that include security by design and common gotchas
• Where/how network-based risk can be mitigated to tolerable levels

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And with time permitting, we would do a demo of a Modbus TCP/IP slave/master communication, review of transmitted packets with Wireshark, and an exhibit using an industrial network firewall to enforce Read-Only access on a simulated PLC.

See the recording of the presentation on Youtube

PRESENTATION

Trung Nguyen

ISA Montreal – President