Product category:
Process Control System security
News Release from: Emerson Process Management | Subject: DeltaV Achilles 1
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 31 May 2007
DeltaV achieves Achilles security
certification
The Emerson Process Management DeltaV controller and firewall have passed the Achilles Level 1 certification testing, which is designed to assess the overall security of automation controllers
The DeltaV certification shows the systems passed over 20 million tests to achieve Level 1 certification The DeltaV digital system is a key component of Emerson PlantWeb digital plant architecture, a global leader in the automation of process manufacturing facilities
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 30 Dec 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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"This is another step in our on-going effort to provide a highly secure control network that began when the DeltaV system was first developed," said Duncan Schleiss, vice president of Marketing, Process Systems and Solutions, for Emerson Process Management: "Starting from the initial release, the DeltaV system has provided such security features as anti-virus protection and role-based user security, and is constructed as a private network to keep the control system separate from any non-control networks.
The use of DeltaV firewalls provides a plug-and-play security solution for DeltaV systems to deploy recently tested security solutions".
The Achilles Certification Programme was developed by Wurldtech Labs and its partners to provide a benchmark for certification of secure industrial controllers.
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The programme is designed to assess the overall security of industrial controllers and provide the most complete, accurate and trustworthy information possible on their security.
Level 1 certification focuses on layers 2 to 4 and the implementation of common protocols such as Ethernet, ARP, IP, ICMP and UPD.
The challenge in testing automation controllers lies in a lack of detailed information available to vendors about the protocol stacks they are using, especially when used in conjunction with their own proprietary protocols.
Achilles certification overcomes this problem by combining mathematically rigorous test-packet generation and stateful recognition with highly advanced black box monitoring techniques.
Complex sequences of test packages generated automatically enable precise trace identification for any points of concern to discover both known and unknown errors and vulnerabilities.
"Automation engineers can have a higher degree of comfort knowing that DeltaV controllers have passed an accepted set of test suites and test parameters," said Bob Huba, senior product manager for Emerson Process Management: "Controllers with Level 1 certification have demonstrated the robustness to survive network cyber attacks.
One real benefit of passing these rigorous tests is to provide users with the ability to better plan the installation of security updates and new anti-virus signatures.
Knowing that the controllers can survive a possible security incident provides an opportunity to schedule these patching tasks around process activities rather than always immediately deploying the updates".
The DeltaV system combines the rings of protection, in which an intruder must get past successive layers of protection devices, with defence in depth, consisting of protections enabled within the security rings.
The DeltaV network sits at the centre of protection layers that provide as much system isolation as possible from attacks originating in the plant LAN network space.
The basic security strategy for any automation system is to manage user and network access to the system to protect the controller from attack. Request a free brochure from Emerson Process Management ...
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