FROM THE EDITORS: Walt Boyes on cyberwars

How secure is your plant?
ControlGlobal.com
Is your plant control system safe from cyberwar attack? CONTROL Editor in Chief Walt Boyes reports on whether plant control security systems are good enough and what the industry plans to do about it.

 
SITE HIGHLIGHTS: Editor’s top picks

Securing control systems: What you need to know
ControlGlobal.com
Protecting your system from hackers can be complicated, so system specifiers should consider deploying other technologies to ensure that wireless access points only receive secure signals.

The myths and facts behind cyber security risks for industrial control systems
BCIT.ca
This new and original study on industrial cyber security, from the British Columbia Institute of Technology, reveals a tenfold increase in the number of successful attacks on process control and SCADA systems since 2000.

 
SPECIAL TO THE WEB: ControlGlobal.com

Control system security: Interacting with IT
ControlGlobal.com
This “special to the web” White Paper for ControlGlobal.com. points out how important it is that IT and control system engineers establish an on-going dialogue about security issues, because new threats and vulnerabilities are constantly evolving and working together is the only way to ensure the health, availability, integrity and security of mission-critical control networks.

Industrial network security
ControlGlobal.com
This “special to the web” book, available from ISA.org, provides an introduction to the field of industrial network security and a brief tutorial on the basics of IT cybersecurity, physical and personnel security.

Take the CONTROL Poll
ControlGlobal.com
How well integrated is your plant automation system with your business system? Take the Poll on the ControlGlobal.com home page and let us know.

 
FEATURED TOPICS: Insight you can use

Process control security
ControlGlobal.com
System vulnerabilities are causing many to rethink their approach to protecting process control systems. CONTROL Senior Technical Editor Dan Hebert, PE, notes that with the pressure on to develop a workable set of security requirements, the NIST is there.

Lock down your wireless Ethernet
ControlGlobal.com
If hackers realize you have unsecured Wi-Fi, they'll go after it. This article from Industrial Networking magazine suggests a few important steps that can make the difference between a secure wireless system and a hackable one.

Open source software driver developed to improve PDA security
ControlGlobal.com
The new driver, developed by NIST and Renesas Technology America, will enable PDAs to use special postage stamp-sized multimedia cards, which have all the security functions of a smart card and more storage capacity built-in.

NIST to release cyber security requirements for industrial control systems
Survive.com
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is working with process control end users, vendors and integrators to improve the IT security of networked digital control systems used in industrial applications in order to help protect the U.S.'s critical industrial infrastructure from cyber attacks.

New angle to cyberthreats
ISA.org
Industrial cybersecurity expert Eric Byres catalyzed a panel of government and private industry cybernetworking and critical infrastructure specialists at ISA Expo 2004 with his speech, "Automation Systems—An Achilles' Heel to Our Critical Infrastructure”

Invensys implements network security services for users of automation systems
PRWeb.com
New services have been designed to help identify site vulnerabilities and protect against cyber attacks and other network intrusions at industrial sites.

 
NEW TO THE MARKET: Recent innovations

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Embedded modules for wireless are encrypted for security

 
UPCOMING EVENTS: Shows, seminars, conferences

Web seminar: Network security series, Part 3:
Encryption and virtual private networks
ISA.org
This seminar will introduce participants to the world of cryptography, focusing on how these systems can be effectively deployed on the typical plant floor. Dec. 15, 2005.

Web seminar: Industrial network security series, Part 1: Cyber security risk assessment for automation systems
ISA.org
This seminar will be valuable to IT professionals who wish to learn the special considerations of automation systems in performing Risk Analysis. Jan. 27, 2005.

 
SSI RESOURCES: Solutions for the world of automation

Process control security requirements forum
IntelligentSystemsDivision.gov
This site is a resource for users, vendors, and third parties in the process control industry who are concerned about information security in an increasingly networked world.