Siemens and ISA Partnership Fosters Cybersecurity Awareness
The International Society of Automation (ISA) and Siemens entered a global partnership to increase awareness of industrial cybersecurity needs and standards.
Siemens, a provider of automation equipment and industrial security services and a global manufacturing company, and the International Society of Automation (ISA) have formed a global partnership to foster awareness of industrial security needs and global standards for the protection of industrial plants. The collaboration is in response to continuously evolving threats to automation equipment as well as new protection concepts for industrial plants.
Both parties will share expertise in protecting the automation environment based on the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 62443 standard and appropriate security measures in the form of events, webinars, and educational material. Together, ISA and Siemens intend to raise awareness and share best practices for industrial security with owner-operators of industrial equipment.
"Cybersecurity needs to be addressed by industrial companies as recent global ransomware attacks have demonstrated the possible impacts in the last weeks. Our customers need to adequately manage the associated cyber risk, arising from the vulnerabilities of information technology combined with the increased connectedness in our digital age,” said Henning Rudolf, global head of Siemens Plant Security Services, in a press release.
The ISA Security Compliance Institute (ISCI) operates one of the first standardized assessment schemes for the IEC 62443 industrial automation control systems (IACS) cybersecurity standards, and this program has been adopted by Siemens.
Siemens Plant Security Services adhere to the IEC 62443 guidelines. The company also operates several Cyber Security Operation Centers for the production of industrial facilities, with joint locations in Lisbon, Munich, and in Ohio in the United States. Siemens industrial security specialists based at these sites monitor industrial facilities all around the world for cyber threats, warn companies in the event of security incidents, and coordinate proactive countermeasures.
Source: Siemens
