Rise of Wireless Technology Poses Security Risks for Manufacturers

Chart wireless network connections, Industrial

Figure 1:

The increasing use of networked manufacturing equipment is opening up factories to the benefits of flexible production and wireless mobile communications. However, the rising use of connected devices also is exposing production sites to security breaches and cyberattacks, compelling companies to seek ways to protect their networks, according to a new white paper from IHS Technology, Englewood, Colo.

Wireless network connections in industrial automation components in global factories will rise from 2.1 million in 2012 to 3.4 million by 2017 (see Figure 1). This increase magnifies risk factors to manufacturing environments.

The issue of security in manufacturing networks became front-page news in 2010, when the Stuxnet computer worm infected industrial control systems in Iran. Stuxnet was designed to both subvert and engage in the surveillance of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems made by Siemens.

While Stuxnet is thought to be an intelligence tool, other types of malware are designed simply to infect and damage manufacturing systems. In some cases, hackers have engaged in blackmailing the manufacturing operations of companies, demanding a ransom in order to lift the malware from their systems.

“The rising use of wireless networks and industrial Ethernet is leading to a growing trend in the so-called bringyour- own-device (BYOD) movement in the manufacturing business, with workers utilizing their own smartphones and tablets to monitor and control industrial equipment,” said Mark Watson, associate director, industrial automation group at IHS. “However, such devices may lack adequate security, offering hackers easy access to confidential data—or allowing them to spread malware through factory automation systems.”

To counter this threat, manufacturing operations can take cybersecurity measures. Among these is the “honeypot,” a site that masquerades as a manufacturing network but is actually an isolated system designed to divert and gather information about hackers.

Manufacturing networks continue to adopt a variety of wireless technologies that need protection.

For instance, wireless LAN (WLAN) was the most widely adopted protocol in the industrial space. The technology is highly suitable for many applications because of its advances in the enterprise and consumer sectors, allowing knowledge and technology to filter into industrial applications. Bluetooth® is another protocol extensively used in the consumer space that is also popular for industrial automation networking. Bluetooth’s advantage lies in its capability to pair devices, providing greater security and reducing the potential for opportunistic hacking attacks.

WirelessHART and ISA 100.11a are the two major “true” industrial wireless technologies. They compete directly and are more prevalent in process industries compared to WLAN and Bluetooth, which are more commonly used in discrete industries.

www.ihs.com