EPN Industrial Automation Blog

Automation on track

Industrial automation systems can be quite versatile - take them out of the factory and beside a rail track and even Britain’s or Germany’s infamous trains might run like an oiled automation line. In order to prove this hypothesis, a transportation company and an automation expert join forces.

Tested safety

The partnership between Wind River and Isagraf, announced on SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2011, is taking form. The former RTOS company receives know-how on validated SIL 3 solutions while Isagraf's safety software is being integrated in common products.

Packaging and robots

While the Scandinavian industrial markets in themselves are more or less negligible, they nevertheless are very interesting as they are considered stepping stones for the North-East European markets. This might be the driving motive behind the acquisiotion of the Finnish company Trimaster Oy by German packaging specialist Multivac.

SCADA vulnerability

A week ago, security researcher Rubén Santamarta publicly announced details of multiple vulnerabilities affecting the Schneider Electric Quantum PLC Ethernet Module, and coordinated his findings with ICS-CERT. The Quantum Ethernet Module is prone to an authentication-bypass vulnerability.

Automation abroad

In many environments where automation would be very beneficial, e.g. for worker’s health, conditions are thoroughly adverse for machinery and sensitive embedded computers. Moreover, systems must be usable with protective gloves.

Automation platforms

Today, control units for industrial automation need to be modular in order to keep cost and integration effort at a reasonable level. Since many of those applications require components (i.e software and hardware) from different vendors, certification and licensing issues arise. Bundles or system platforms may ease those pains.

The continuation of Stuxnet by other means

Every IT specialist worth his salt wouldn’t connect a critical SCADA system to the Internet without the strictest of precautions. It seems that people like that don’t work for critical US infrastructure facilities.

Machine under forced scrutiny

In industrial systems, machines need to be monitored constantly in order to ensure material stability, system security and personnel safety. The Field Device Technology standard (FDT) takes care of vendor-independent parameterization.

The threat is back

Remember Stuxnet, anyone? It never became totally clear who was behind – speculations range from the CIA to Mossad to the flying spaghetti monster; at least two of these might be interested in Stuxnet's main target, Iranian nuclear facilities with neglected Windows installations. Now, parts of Stuxnet's code seem to have been recycled in a different type of malware, a trojan horse.

Siemens and Samba

Strange times: traditionally Hardware-oriented companies are currently looking towards Software. For some, this may be a mistake, but in the area of industrial automation, a fitting software solution might just smoothly top off the portfolio.