Wurldtech Security Technologies now has over 25 certified process automation, control and safety systems.
The Achilles Communications Certification program, developed by Wurldtech and its partners to provide a benchmark for the secure development of the applications, devices and systems found in critical industrial infrastructure, is able to assess the network robustness of industrial devices and certify they meet a formal and comprehensive set of requirements and conformance.
The certification process presents device manufacturers with an independently verified result from which to communicate their product security to customers, while providing the operators of control systems with the most complete, accurate, and trustworthy information possible about the network resilience of their deployed products.
“As a community we need to understand that we all have roles to play to improve the resilience of our critical industrial networks and certification is a great way for vendors to validate the robustness of the systems being supplied to industrial end-users,” said Peter Kwaspen, with Shell’s strategy and development area in its control & automation systems engineering department. “The Achilles Certified designation saves Shell a lot of time in the specification and procurement process and provides us with the assurance that the process control systems we buy have met an industry-accepted benchmark for security and robustness.”
In the utility area, Sensus, a supplier of metering solutions, said their FlexNet 2.2 communications system is the Smart Grid industry’s first Achilles Certified metering system. During the six-month certification process, the technology underwent a battery of rigorous tests to identify and eliminate vulnerabilities.
“Our utility customers recognize that independently verified and repeatable assurances of security are critical for defining a reliable standard of security for the entire Smart Grid industry,” said Peter Mainz, president and chief executive at Sensus.
On the wireless front, Emerson Process Management said its Smart Wireless Gateway is the first wireless device to be Achilles Certified.
“From the start, security has been a top priority for Emerson Smart Wireless solutions. Incorporating the Achilles certification program into our product development process builds upon that foundation and shows our continued commitment to providing secure and reliable solutions,” said Jeff Potter, Emerson’s Security and IT Integration Manager.
Invensys Operations Management’s I/A Series Model P92 workstations are the first host-based devices (HBD) to achieve the Achilles Certified designation, which include HMIs, engineering workstations, historian servers and domain controllers.
“Our customers demand the utmost in secure process control systems,” said Ernie Rakaczky, Invensys Operations Management security program manager. “We see the certification of the Foxboro I/A Series Operator Workstations as another step toward helping our clients achieve safety and control excellence, and look forward to driving more of our products, applications and practice though a defined Achilles Certification.”
Wind River’s VxWorks is the first real-time operating system to gain certification under the Achilles certification program. This certification enables Wind River’s customers in the process automation, power and energy, oil and gas, transportation, and medical market segments to deploy VxWorks with certified defenses against cyber attacks.
“As cyber threats to mission-critical systems continue to grow in frequency and complexity, it is critical to have a secure infrastructure that protects vital data against hackers,” said Jens Wiegand, GM of industrial and medical solutions at Wind River.