Dissecting Stuxnet. How it works with PLCs and VFDs.

Post 2010, after the infamous Stuxnet attack in Iran, cyber threats have gained considerable attention from all sections of the industry, from automation and device vendors at the plant-floor to management personnel in boardrooms.

The need for implementing security initiatives is increasingly becoming a regulatory compulsion. A practical projection of current trends indicate that regulations and standards governing cyber security is likely to surge in future, reflecting the urgency and opportunity for automation vendors to invest in this emerging market space.

This briefing will try to understand:

• the history of cyber threats
• significance to automation vendors
• contemporary security initiatives

It will provide automation vendors with an insight into some of the popular industrial perceptions towards cyber security, offering viable recommendations for security initiatives in future enterprises.

WHEN: 16 May 2012 at 2pm BST

WHERE: Online, with free registration

For more information, and to register online go to: http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/analyst-briefing-detail.pag?mode=open&sid=259433753

The European programmable logic controllers (PLC) market witnessed a heavy decline in growth in 2009, owing to the recession of 2008. However, it made a strong recovery in 2010 with all major market participants in Europe experiencing high growth.

The sovereign debt crisis afflicting the Eurozone will determine the future prospects of the European PLC market. In the meantime, however, the market is likely to grow steadily over the forecast period aided by the emergence of major Eastern European economies as manufacturing hubs for the rest of Europe. The EU PLC market will add over €1B in revenues, reaching €2.6B in 2017 from its 2010 €1.6B base.

The research firm Frost & Sullivan explains their enthusiasm:. “The global economic crisis and the sovereign debt crisis of Europe have created an atmosphere of uncertainty, with fewer projects expected in the next 2 years,” begins company representative Karthik Sundaram.

But the major trend defining the market will be increasing end user concerns over cyber security.

“Cyber security is expected to be the key parameter in safety regulations and standards that are about to be introduced in January 2012,” explains Sundaram.

On the competitive front, intense competition between tier-1 companies is causing dramatic improvements in the PLC market, leading to the emergence of new products with improved design and control capabilities that surpass traditional definitions.

Last year, Vacon teamed with computer security provider F-Secure to complete research into computer security in industrial automation applications. Now the companies are ready to publish their findings in the form of a white paper.

The white paper introduces the nature of malware and security threats in industrial automation systems. The level of standardization in the information security field will be discussed, comparing the status of ICT systems security standardization to that of industrial automation.

The white paper will present security aspects of traditional field buses and Industrial Ethernet-based networks and the properties of industrial automation devices with a focus on security and tampering possibilities.

The white paper will also propose different methods to increase security both in network and in device level with methods varying from proper network management instructions to hardware differentiation on the device level. Vacon and F-Secure will suggest that the key to improved security is threat modeling and effective security measures which cannot be circumvented with reasonable efforts.

Vacon's and F-Secure's white paper on industrial information security will be published in December, 2011.

Terrific video on Stuxnet - gives perspective to the effort and the impact.

Ralph Langner talks about breaking the code and learning about the sinister purpose of Stuxnet.