In recent years, the constant technological evolution has made possible a large number of advances that would have been unthinkable years ago. In industrial environments, one of the latest developments that promises to stand out and is here to stay are virtual PLC.
The virtualization of these controllers will make it possible to decouple the hardware from the software, i.e. the software will be installed in the engineering stations, while the hardware will remain in another area outside the production area.
One of the most important activities in the industry is the industrial maintenance because it could extend the service life of devices. This activity has always been more mechanically oriented, but currently it might talk a new type of maintenance because the new industry technologies and increase of cyberattacks.
This maintenance is more related with the informatic world and in this article will be able to see the principals characteristics and the actions to be taken to ensure that it is carried out correctly.
The programming of PLCs is a fundamental part of the initial phases when building and designing industrial plants. About that environment, the company will base all its operations in that environment making the configuration of these controllers a critical element. When it comes to programming these devices there are a series of steps and best practices that take advantage of the native functionalities available and that involve little or no need to resort to a PLC programmer, protecting the device in a simple way with minimum spend on resource.
The increase in industrial control systems and the shortcomings of those systems in cybersecurity measures have made such systems a preferred target of attacks. The number of tools designed to pose a threat to the OT sector has increased, and the use of the Incontroller tool is especially concerning.
PLCs, or Programmable Logic Controllers, have been part of industrial environments since the birth of automation. Given their evolution over time, thanks to greater intelligence, they have become a target of interest for potential attackers.
In order to increase security levels in OT networks, there are now solutions that monitor networks, devices and configurations, actively looking for anomalies and possible security flaws and intrusions that could take place. However, there are other types of attacks on ICS that are carried out on a completely different plane, where anomaly analysis systems can’t reach. These are attacks on analog sensors.
Although the use of black channel is associated with physical safety, it is also part of logical safety. Here we can see how the black channel intervenes in communications, its contribution, advantages, use cases and the differences between it and the white channel.
The defence in depth and, especially, the definition of Zones and Conduits is a subject considered by many experts as a "theoretical" matter. However, with the help of this article, the user will understand its applicability by explaining the keys to approach the creation of Zones and Conduits, as well as the elements that come into play.
Computers used in control systems to perform a particular process usually have high costs due to their specialisation for a very specific task. But is it possible to manage a process with a small-dimension mass-produced generic system? In some cases, yes, and this is being increasingly demonstrated by low-cost hardware available to both industry and individuals.