Government and a secure control system

When it comes to securing your plant and systems, end users have a huge task in front of them.
That is where the Idaho National Laboratories come in.
“We want to make you aware of the challenges ahead of you,” said Robb Hoffman, who runs the control system security program of the National Cyber Security Division. Hoffman gave a keynote address during the Yokogawa Technology Fair and 2008 User Conference in Houston today.
The government set up various areas to help manufacturers be aware of potential security hazards, avoid security pitfalls, and be able to test their systems to keep them up and running despite attempted cyber attacks.
Security hasn’t really been at the forefront of control engineers’ minds because it as been a part of IT, Hoffman said.
“I think you will see over the next couple of years that will change,” he said. “You have to go out and educate and show people the tools they can use to mitigate problems.”
While the government sometimes does not have the greatest reputation for getting things done in a timely manner, Hoffman said the good news is various departments are working together side by side to solve issues and ensure there is no duplication.
Among the myriad things they work on is to offer technology assessments.
“We take technology and work it over and run attacks against it and then send a report back offering an assessment,” he said.