US-based Rockwell Automation, one of the world's largest companies dedicated to industrial automation, has developed a three-step approach for building an industrial security programme that extends from the enterprise to the plant level.

The new programme will help mitigate risk across people, processes and technology, said a statement from the company.

For industrial organisations, security threats will continue to evolve. To keep pace, a holistic security programme should evolve with and stay ahead of the changing threat landscape, it said.

The three steps include:

• Security assessment: Conduct a facility wide assessment to understand risk areas and potential threats.

• Defence-in-depth security: Deploy a multi-layered security approach that establishes multiple tiers of defence.

• Trusted vendors: Verify that your automation vendors follow core security principles when designing their products.

Lee Lane, chief product security officer, Rockwell Automation, said: “We think of industrial security as a layered model and seek to create a unified infrastructure for customers.”

“Our approach takes into account the connections between network security, as well as the physical security and safety in industrial areas,” he said.

Following the three-step approach will help organisations establish a programme that can help protect intellectual property, facilities, assets, employees and competitive advantages into the future, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service