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1 August 2005

A secure world

Virtuosos talk of vexing industry vipers.

Worms, viruses, attacks—it's not a pretty picture for control systems worldwide. So what is industry doing to improve control system security? You'll find out 25 October as Evan Hand, Kraft's electrical CFL leader, leads a panel discussion, "Introduction to Manufacturing and Controls Security."

The session will give an overview of key principles behind security, highlight how ISA-SP99 and others are addressing the issues, and cover industrial trends as they relate to control system security. Panelists from major security companies and from key industrial sectors will answer your questions.

Debunking myths

"From my experience in dealing with putting wireless infrastructures in industrial settings, it's crossing a boundary between people who are used to monitoring and then operating in industrial infrastructures," said Peter Fuhr, chief technology officer at Apprion in Moffitt Field, Calif. and the keynote speaker on 26 October. "Then here comes the IT department and their perspective of the person associated with wireless—the big bad internet and viruses that can happen on that side of the street," he said.

Fuhr will host a panel of industrial wireless experts who will debunk industrial wireless myths to "clear the air of a lot of distortion that each one of these areas has about their perceptions about security," he said. "We want to cut through to get a common framework and to take care of a lot of these inconsistencies."

Fuhr is especially concerned with alleviating misconceptions about the baggage associated inappropriately with Wi-Fi 802.11 deployments. "The anecdotal stories come filtering across the hallway into the industrial setting, where it is a totally different type of wireless," he said. "So all of a sudden, you have wireless sensor networks being deployed, and people in industrial settings have to answer security issues that aren't relevant."

A recipe for safety

From the ingredient supply chain, through manufacturing, and all the way out to the consumer, John Blanchard and his panel of food safety industry experts will cover all aspects of what manufacturers are doing to secure their processes. "We aren't just talking about food safety in terms of hazop but in terms of securing the entire supply chain and all the transports and facilities as well," said Blanchard, principal analyst for ARC Advisory Group and the session leader on 27 October for "Food Safety and Security—The Increased Requirements for Corporate Due Diligence."

Not only will Blanchard address hazop but safety beyond the bioterrorism act requirements. "We'll cover clarifications on regulations and current governmental global initiatives like the safe and secure trade lanes initiative," he said. Three manufacturers will talk about what they are doing in food safety and in meeting business and regulatory requirements.