Not only are numerous machines, components, and other data points always online in Industry 4.0, many people also have access: employees and maintenance personnel, product management staff, quality assurance staff, the machine manufacturer’s service staff, etc. This means that networked production needs a security concept that covers the entire production chain. The key points in the catalog of measures have recently been compiled by TeleTrust expert Siegfried Müller, Managing Director of the remote maintenance specialist MB Connect Line (page 16). These include two-factor authentication, segmentation of the production network into manageable logical units, and dedicated PLC appliances with alarm capabilities. It is also advisable to use redundant communication channels .

This year’s winner of the TeleTrusT Innovation Award also shows that the Industry 4.0 security topic is gaining in importance in the German IT Security Association (Bundesverband IT-Sicherheit e.V.): at the T.I.S.P. Community Meeting held on November 14, Leverkusen-based Steen Harbach AG was awarded for its Pointblank solution. It implements advanced end-to-end encryption technology (TLS) as neutral middleware into even the tiniest of chips, making secure M2M communications possible by design.