As digital transformation accelerates its impact on an increasing number of industrial operations, connectivity plays an increasingly significant role in driving operational efficiency. For this reason, the interoperability of the different technological solutions becomes a critical element to guarantee efficiency and an advantage on the market.
At the same time the expansion of connectivity across devices Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), embedded in machines, increases the threat of cyber attacks. To minimize this risk, companies need to protect themselves more and better. Reviewing the resilience of industrial control systems is a first step without forgetting all the devices IIoT which do not perform strictly control functions but which provide the data used to make business decisions.
From the point of view of industrial operations, there is a need to collect more data, offer customers more services and increase the efficiency of the machines within the plants. The main goal for plant owners, and the OEMs who support them, is to know when a machine's performance is declining and to avoid unplanned downtime. Lower performance often means lower production and, therefore, lower revenue. Every minute of downtime can have a negative impact on profitability.
Now that smart machine deployment projects involve connecting to the Internet or external networks, potential cybersecurity issues also need to be addressed. Digital transformation and cybersecurity are 100% connected; therefore, businesses should be wary of moving forward with one without the other. It is up to each organization to understand where vulnerabilities lie within their systems and operations.
We can help customers with a variety of approaches to hook up their machines. Some may not want many of the machines in their production lines connected to the cloud. In these cases, we help them design a solution that separates the top-level connectivity layer, with only one entry point to the cloud, from the bottom level of factory devices. With only one connection point, it's not complicated to deal with a security risk if one is presented: by simply closing or opening the one connection. Also, if an OEM technician wants to connect to their smart machine to perform maintenance remotely, they can bypass a cloud connection by using their own virtual private network (VPN) and server.
We can also establish a single point where all controllers (PLC) in the production line can send their data and have the industrial personal computer (IPC) take over the data exchange, opening the connection to the cloud only when necessary.
This post was originally published on the Schneider Electric global blog.
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