Enhancing Cybersecurity in Automation and Control with Edge Computing

In today’s digital landscape, cybersecurity is a crucial requirement from edge to the enterprise and is indispensable for safeguarding automation and control systems. These systems are vital for managing the continuous operation of critical infrastructure, providing essential services and products necessary for both daily life and economic activities ranging from water/wastewater facilities and oil and gas production to food and beverage manufacturing, life sciences processes, smart cities, and transportation systems.

Automation and control systems collect, process, and leverage sensitive data crucial for operational continuity and public safety, making cyber protection necessary to uphold confidentiality, integrity, and availability across several industries. Running security measures on a reliable, trustworthy platform is really important.

Why does cybersecurity matter?

Robust cybersecurity measures are essential in preventing unauthorized access, avoiding disruptions in critical services, protecting sensitive data, and preserving regulatory compliance. Implementing strong cybersecurity protocols on a reliable platform, for example, a fault tolerant Edge Computing platform, empowers organizations to maintain control over their automation and control system environments, reducing the likelihood of disruptive cyber incidents that could lead to significant financial losses or even safety hazards.

Prioritizing cybersecurity not only fortifies an organization's reputation and fosters stakeholder trust but also effectively addresses the unique challenges associated with securing ACS, ensuring the resilience and reliability of critical infrastructure against cyber threats.

The unique challenges of cybersecurity in automation and control

Many automation and control systems rely on legacy technologies that were not designed with cybersecurity in mind. These systems often lack built-in security features and are challenging to update or replace, leaving them vulnerable to cyber threats.

Implementing cybersecurity solutions in remote, unmanned, or hostile environments typical of many factories, plants, and facilities presents significant challenges. Ensuring reliable physical access, consistent power and network connectivity, and the ability to promptly address technical issues and hardware failures are all difficult tasks in such settings.

With long lifecycles and stringent regulatory compliance requirements, ensuring the security and resilience of automation and control systems demands a multifaceted approach that addresses technical vulnerabilities and risk management strategies.

The role of Edge Computing in securing automation and control solutions

Traditional cybersecurity measures can be significantly enhanced in automation and control systems. Innovative solutions like Edge Computing are being leveraged to improve reliability and ease of implementation. Here's how Edge Computing technologies strengthen cybersecurity, address vulnerabilities, and protect critical infrastructure assets:

1. Extend Cybersecurity to the Edge: Leveraging Edge Computing platforms, with their inherent redundancy, downtime protection, and Class I Division 2 Certification, helps extend cybersecurity capabilities to previously inaccessible or hard-to-secure areas, such as remote locations, unmanned sites, and hazardous environments. This allows organizations to deploy robust security measures effectively, enhancing the protection of critical infrastructure assets and reducing the risk of cyber incidents from the enterprise level down to the plant floor.
2. Easier deployment: Cybersecurity solutions come pre-validated and performance-tested with Edge Computing platforms. This helps reduce deployment time by ensuring consistency, standardization, enhanced reliability, and performance through rigorous pre-testing, and it helps provide a reliable security posture by being consistent to best practices and compliance standards.
3. Consolidate Cyber with Controls: Edge Computing platforms inherent virtualization enables users to consolidate multiple applications on a single HA/FT platform allowing cybersecurity protocols to seamlessly integrate with applications like HMI, SCADA, MES, and batching. This integration ensures robust protection without disrupting critical operations, effectively bridging the gap between cybersecurity needs and operational imperatives.
4. Enhanced Cybersecurity Resilience: Integrated redundancy in Edge Computing platforms safeguards your consolidated cybersecurity and automation and control systems against unplanned downtime, significantly amplifying security measures and ensuring the continuous availability of critical applications and data. Some advanced platforms offer up to 7-nines (99.99999%) uptime and availability.

As you embark on a journey to bolster your organization's cybersecurity defenses and safeguard your critical infrastructure with Edge Computing solutions, here are some practical next steps.

• Schedule a Consultation: Ready to enhance your organization's cybersecurity posture with Edge Computing solutions? Schedule a consultation with a subject matter expert today to explore how the current technology can address your specific security challenges and maximize protection for your plant automation and control systems.
• Explore Edge Computing Solutions: Take a closer look at what Edge Computing solutions are available in the market that can meet the unique security needs of your plant automation and control systems.