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Teaching AI Functional Safety
In today’s technology-driven manufacturing ecosystem where artificial intelligence (AI) appears to fall into play in just about every discussion, there is little doubt there could be a huge opportunity for use in functional safety moving forward.
Safety Solution: Services Provide an Answer
Manufacturers these days are working on a set of assumptions when it comes to functional safety: Workers are aging out and retiring at a fast rate, replacements are difficult to find, and demand for products is continuing to rise.
Finding a Solution to the Safety Brain Drain
A safety professional walks into the same plant he has been working at for the past 35 years and hears a sound that seems off. It could be anything, but he homes in on one particular area where the sound is coming from and goes to work fixing the problem.
Filling the Cyber Talent Gap with Managed Security Services
One of the most well-known facts about industrial control system cybersecurity is there is a serious lack of qualified experts to fill vital roles at manufacturing enterprises.
Closing Pandora’s Box with Managed Security Services
There is an unsung hero these days that remains a steady but sure backbone as digitalization continues its march forward allowing for unprecedented growth and productivity in the manufacturing sector – cybersecurity.
How Process Safety Management Plays a Role in Sustainability
It is no secret global warming is continuing to grow and present a problem for the world. It is also no secret the manufacturing sector is a large contributor to this world-wide dilemma, however, as the industry heads toward a lofty, but achievable goal of carbon neutrality, safety can play a vital role.
Energy Transformation and Process Safety Management
Ethylene production is a highly hazardous environment, where the process works under very high pressures, very high temperatures, and fast thermal reactions. Everyone in the industry has done a good job of making ethylene crackers safe and efficient where it is possible to reuse the steam to help drive power generation. But the next move, and it will be sooner than you think, is electrification will start to take over to fire up the furnaces and fossil fuels become obsolete.
Keeping Process Safety Management In Scope with Digitalization
There is a dichotomy of sorts going on across the industry: Digitalization is taking hold where manufacturers are connecting devices to garner all kinds of information to create more informed decision-making and increase productivity, but the fear is safety could be left in the technological dust.
Growing Age of Industry 5.0 and Process Safety
There was a time not too long ago a grizzled veteran operator could walk into a plant and just by listening to the buzz of the process, he or she would know the process was running properly. A true human-centric observation.
Spotlight on Smart Building Cybersecurity
It wasn’t that long ago when an attacker was able to gain access into the network a Las Vegas casino through a thermostat connected to a fish tank, and then pivot to compromise the database of high roller gamblers.
Protecting Against Ransomware Attacks
Colonial Pipeline, JBS Foods, Toshiba, CNA Financial are just a few of the well-known ransomware attacks that have caught the public’s eye over the past year or so.
Securing the Supply Chain: Ensuring a Trust Relationship
Leonardtown, Maryland, Town Administrator Laschelle McKay was going about her day when she learned the town’s entire network was shut down. The town’s IT company is a client of management and security software provider, Kaseya, which earlier had suffered an attack where hackers had gotten in and added malicious code.
Cybersecurity: Foundation for Digital Transformation
We need to change our mindset around cybersecurity. Manufacturers can’t just flip a switch and turn off its operations, especially when a process runs for years at a time. With that in mind, operators, engineers, and executives have to be able to adjust and work with what is happening out on the plant floor as a part of everyday life.
Remote Access Leads to FL Water Supply Tampering
A quick thinking worker watched and quickly fixed an attack as a hacker using a Florida water treatment plant’s remote access capabilities broke in Friday and increased the amount of sodium hydroxide, or lye, to extremely dangerous levels. In these times of increased work from home, questions remain as to how secure are company’s remote access capabilities, and how vigilant are those providers in seeing what is going on? In this case, it appears the water company’s remote access was not secure, but worker vigilance was on target.
Understanding Sensor Data Integrity
An energy company knew there was a problem with drift and misconfigurations with their sensors. Yes, they were smart sensors, but they didn’t know how much they could trust them, after all, one area had one type of reading, another area had a different reading and yet another area had something different. It just seemed like they were all talking a different language. There was definitely an inconsistency challenge.
Project Awareness: Don’t Bolt On Security, Build It In
A request for a quote (RFQ) or request for information (RFI) comes out and the excitement is palpable because the manufacturer is now going to get the upgraded system it has needed forever, and suppliers are going to help their customer grow and gain efficiencies while they generate added revenue. A classic win-win.
PAS: From Raising Capital to Being Acquired
There comes a time in any company’s lifetime where they have to make a decision on what they have to do if they want to grow: Acquisition, raise capital, be acquired or go the organic route. PAS Global wanted to grow and they first thought raising capital was the way to go. Afterall, they did it before and it worked, why not do it again. After first looking to raise capital about a year ago, at some point in the spring, they shifted gears and looked to be acquired.
No Hype, Just Create a Product Strategy
Change and the evolution of security products is inevitable, so asset owners should not get caught up in the hype of buying one product thinking it will solve all their security problems, but rather, take a clear thoughtful approach and lay out a solid strategy. “When we talk about products, we have to be careful. Companies, especially senior management, believe they can solve problems by buying a product. It can help, but it won’t be a solid answer,” said Dale Peterson, founder and chief executive at Digital Bond, last week during a keynote at the PAS Optics 2020 virtual conference. “You really need to come up with a product strategy.”
LyondellBasell: From Attack to Solid Security
Nine years ago, one manufacturing facility for chemical giant LyondellBasell fell victim to a Conficker virus attack that had already been out for four years which ended up shutting down some firewalls but ultimately did not shut down the plant. “This was a known virus and there were known fixes, but we were not prepared for it,” said Michael Norris, director of business systems security at LyondellBasell during a session entitled “Building & Maturing IT/OT Risk Management: An Ongoing Journey” Tuesday at the PAS Optics 2020 virtual conference.
Protecting Non-Critical Infrastructure
A cyber attack occurs and the first thing all experts think about is protecting the critical infrastructure, and deservedly so, but an equally key aspect is understanding and protecting the critical infrastructure for manufacturers within non-critical infrastructure industries.