Viruses are everywhere
You try to protect yourself against viruses, exercise regularly, eat a balanced diet, and dress up warm. In spite of all this, you still end up with a virus every now and then. If you’re careless and catch a cold, if you don’t get enough vitamins, or if you’re in contact with someone who has an infection. There are some hazards you have very little influence on. The risk of contagion is omnipresent. What do you do to protect yourself?
The dilemma is much the same when it comes to your automation system. If you don’t watch out, don’t take precautions, or are unable to maintain an adequate level of protection, your plant will become vulnerable. The threat of infection is great!
A partial or total failure of your automation equipment plus data corruption or theft are among the dire consequences of an unprotected system. And if your plant’s functional safety is also jeopardized as a result, dangerous situations can easily arise. A reliable concept for monitoring plant security could look something like this…
Services is our passion
To me, service means helping the client get the best out of their plant every single day. I know I can always rely on my dedicated, customer focused team – and so can you!
My team and I are responsible for providing support to our existing users. We undertake troubleshooting, maintenance, upgrades, scale-ups, consulting, spare parts strategies, and repairs or develop tailored service concepts in the framework of service agreements or one-off contracts. Over the last few years, security services have also accounted for a fair share of our work now that industrial plants, too, are under threat from cybercrime. Have you ever experienced any such threats yourself? Our secure remote maintenance systems are an increasingly popular choice to improve our service efficiency and establish a permanently secure automation environment for our customers – not only rapidly but also affordably.
This takes me to the topic for my NAMUR workshop. You are cordially invited to take part in a debate with me on automation security at this year’s Annual General Meeting.
Do you know?
But what about security in your plant? Are you absolutely sure? An awareness of your automation system’s security status is crucial for the health of your plant. Yet is your virus scanner also up to date? Has it already detected any viruses in your system in the past?
What is the proper response if it does? Are you familiar with all of the essential steps to deal with a system failure? Do you know the answers to the following questions:
- Who actually logs into your system?
- When was the last operating system patch installed on your computers? Was it really installed on all of them?
- And what is the very first, all-important action you should take if a failure occurs?
We offer.
Have I got you wishing you had all of this information about your automation system at your fingertips? Every single hour of every single day? I’d like to show you how Yokogawa makes that possible. Not just for one plant but for worldwide plant networks. We do more than simply install a few protection mechanisms and software tools. We take care of the entire process together with you. It’s vital that you embed security in your daily routine in such a way that it doesn’t interfere with your core business. We create an awareness with you on all operational levels, assess the adequacy of your existing measures, and where meaningful supplement them with our security modules. To make sure these protection mechanisms gain acceptance throughout the company, we train your personnel and design a tailored change management concept in consultation with you. As you can see, we never leave the success of our projects to chance.
When all of these measures are fully implemented, we also handle the care and maintenance of your automation security. And we make the security status transparent to you. That way, you can take prompt – and above all robust – decisions and action, even if something goes wrong. Best of all, you can do this in time to stop your system becoming infected.
Possible without systems of Yokogawa
Are you tempted by such an extensive array of services? Would you also like to ensure comprehensive security for your plant but do not currently own a Yokogawa process control system? No problem! Our solutions are designed to work with other systems too, not just our own. We are equally successful at monitoring the automation security status of third-party systems.
Why should you trust your plant security to Yokogawa?
There are three good reasons:
- We take security seriously – and we always have done. More than ten years ago, Yokogawa set up a Security Information Technology Center to develop secure automation systems. We test and validate virus signatures and operating system patches there, verify that the security measures we put in place are immune to external attack, and discuss security issues with customers and partners.
- Our team are at hand to monitor, and generally attend to, your plant security 24/7. In addition to this second level support we also maintain Support Centers in all corners of the globe, with experts close to where you are.
- We talk about security in your process plants. Availability and reliability are key priorities. After all, we can’t just reboot your process control system while it’s up and running. Yokogawa has more than a century of expertise in measurement and automation technology; for more than forty years now, we have been a recognized expert for automation systems in process plants as we know them today. Availability is written in our DNA. And the same goes for the security solutions and services we develop in collaboration with you.
“All very well in theory,”…
… I hear you say. Our solutions don’t only work in theory, though – they’re also proven in harsh industrial environments, as the practical example I’ll be describing at my workshop apply demonstrates. If it’s security you’re looking for, don’t miss my workshop. I look forward to some interesting discussions at the NAMUR Annual General Meeting in November.
See you then…
