Industrial Automation Blog

Hacking into S7

Reading the ICS-CERT security alerts on a daily basis can make you despair, even though most of the vulnerabilities and attacks in and on industrial systems aren't actually world-shattering. However, a few of them do stand out - for example when the target is in use extremely often or the vulnerability  is fairly easy to exploit.

Safety and security on the rise

Another one of those market studies that »unveils« something that's obvious - but there are some interesting and unexpected details. On the face of it, the »Strategic Analysis of Global Machine Safety Market« by Frost&Sullivan states that »with the introduction of stringent safety requirements in developed countries, demand for machine safety solutions is expected to rise significantly« (Really?). More interesting are the implications on developing and emerging markets.

The standard way to conformity

One of the most annoying tasks for electronic design engineers is securing standard conformity. The sizes of descriptions for IEC, DIN and EN usually range between the telephone directory for Greater Londonand the Encyclopedia Britannica. However, most of the more boring steps can be automatized.

Home Automation vs. burglars

While large companies can afford enormous budgets for sophisticated security and alarm equipment including the corresponding personnel, smaller businesses often have just as much to protect but not as much money. So, why not use the building/home automation network together with a comparatively simple intrusion alarm?

Functional safety as lifeguard

The new European machinery directive 2006/42/EG is initiating change: Many regulations already have changed; many others should have changed by now. Especially machine manufactures have to face this challenge. They have to find ways to optimise machine safety. Automation equipment vendors offer pre-packaged solutions which mostly follow – as usual in industrial automation – vendor-specific “standards”.