Secure First Mile Connectivity Architectures

The Industrial IoT presents new opportunities for maximizing operational performance through unparalleled levels of connectivity to analytics and expertise. Getting the right data to the right people can improve plant reliability, efficiency and safety, but with increased connectivity comes increased risk – especially during the “first mile” when data is moved from the plant floor onto the internet to power IT and cloud based applications.

Today’s facilities go to great lengths to protect the critical control and safety systems that safely operate their facilities, frequently called “operational technology” or OT systems. Without robust security technologies in place, a plant’s assets can be exposed to harmful agents that can cripple operations. When considering Industrial IoT applications that require sensor data in those systems to be transported over the internet, safeguarding against these threats means employing a secure approach for moving sensor data from these sometimes isolated parts of a plant’s infrastructure on to the internet without creating vulnerabilities.

Emerson also offers cyber security consulting services to deploy Secure First Mile architectures. Emerson security consultants work with customers’ OT and IT departments and their existing security strategies to evaluate existing infrastructure, define the most effective and secure solution to match the business needs for data and applications with the best security architecture to connect to that data. These services are based on decades of securing process critical control and safety systems in applications that range from FDA regulated pharmaceutical facilities to meeting rigorous NERC CIP requirements in nuclear power plants.

Together, these technologies and services bridge the gap between the plant floor and the cloud by enabling secure data collection and aggregation, control over data flow, and the highest standards for encryption and authentication.