When many think about the mining industry, they’re probably not thinking about new technologies. Instead, they might be conjuring up mental images of grueling manual labor. Scenes straight out of the 19th century, with workers swinging pickaxes and pushing carts in narrow tunnels where lighting and airflow are scarce and safety hazards plentiful.
But these impressions are no longer fully accurate. Subsurface resource extraction, like so many other industries, has become an increasingly technology-driven affair. Rio Tinto, for example, has been using industrial internet of things (IIoT) devices to operate a fleet of driverless trucks for more than a decade, and this solution has allowed it to reduce safety risks while also optimizing expenses and logistics. Likewise, Fortescue Metals Group uses connected monitors to obtain mobile views of the loads carried by its vehicle fleet, and this solution allows it to alert drivers in real time when trucks are not operating at full capacity, thereby conserving resources. Meanwhile, Goldcorp has developed an IIoT solution that uses tracking devices in miners’ helmets to determine when, where, and how to regulate air flows in mine shafts.
When many think about the mining industry, they’re probably not thinking about new technologies. Instead, they might be conjuring up mental images of grueling manual labor. Scenes straight out of the 19th century, with workers swinging pickaxes and pushing carts in narrow tunnels where lighting and airflow are scarce and safety hazards plentiful.
But these impressions are no longer fully accurate. Subsurface resource extraction, like so many other industries, has become an increasingly technology-driven affair. Rio Tinto, for example, has been using industrial internet of things (IIoT) devices to operate a fleet of driverless trucks for more than a decade, and this solution has allowed it to reduce safety risks while also optimizing expenses and logistics. Likewise, Fortescue Metals Group uses connected monitors to obtain mobile views of the loads carried by its vehicle fleet, and this solution allows it to alert drivers in real time when trucks are not operating at full capacity, thereby conserving resources. Meanwhile, Goldcorp has developed an IIoT solution that uses tracking devices in miners’ helmets to determine when, where, and how to regulate air flows in mine shafts.
Etymologically speaking, the word “manufacturing” has its roots in a Latin phrase that means “making by hand.” In practical terms, when talking about manufacturing, you're talking about factories – that is, non-residential facilities that use powered machines to help humans turn out goods for some sort of business enterprise. You may also be thinking about industries – that is, the manufacturing of distinct types of goods such as automobiles, aerospace, electronics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and so on.
If you’re directly involved in industry, you also understand that manufacturing involves more than machine production. It also encompasses the machines themselves, plus the processes and systems used to control and monitor the performance of the machines.
Etymologically speaking, the word “manufacturing” has its roots in a Latin phrase that means “making by hand.” In practical terms, when talking about manufacturing, you're talking about factories – that is, non-residential facilities that use powered machines to help humans turn out goods for some sort of business enterprise. You may also be thinking about industries – that is, the manufacturing of distinct types of goods such as automobiles, aerospace, electronics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and so on.
If you’re directly involved in industry, you also understand that manufacturing involves more than machine production. It also encompasses the machines themselves, plus the processes and systems used to control and monitor the performance of the machines.
It was alarming to learn in December that multiple U.S. government agencies had experienced severe data breaches as a result of cyberattacks. But for those of us who weren’t directly involved in the matter, the alarm was somewhat abstract in nature. After all, it was large-scale, international in scope, and directed at multiple targets, including NATO, the European Union, private businesses, and US federal agencies. It was blamed on hackers who had the backing of a foreign government. Its damage was also measured primarily in terms of data theft and information security.
By contrast, the alarm raised by the cyberattack on the Bruce T. Haddock Water Treatment Plant in Oldsmar, Florida, in early February felt rather concrete. It hit closer to home, as it focused on a single target in a single town. It had the potential to affect human life directly, since it involved an attempt to increase the amount of sodium hydroxide – also known as lye, a caustic substance – in the public water supply to toxic levels. It occurred shortly before Tampa, the city next door, hosted the Super Bowl, an event sure to put the area in the spotlight. And it has not been traced back to any particular source.
It was alarming to learn in December that multiple U.S. government agencies had experienced severe data breaches as a result of cyberattacks. But for those of us who weren’t directly involved in the matter, the alarm was somewhat abstract in nature. After all, it was large-scale, international in scope, and directed at multiple targets, including NATO, the European Union, private businesses, and US federal agencies. It was blamed on hackers who had the backing of a foreign government. Its damage was also measured primarily in terms of data theft and information security.
By contrast, the alarm raised by the cyberattack on the Bruce T. Haddock Water Treatment Plant in Oldsmar, Florida, in early February felt rather concrete. It hit closer to home, as it focused on a single target in a single town. It had the potential to affect human life directly, since it involved an attempt to increase the amount of sodium hydroxide – also known as lye, a caustic substance – in the public water supply to toxic levels. It occurred shortly before Tampa, the city next door, hosted the Super Bowl, an event sure to put the area in the spotlight. And it has not been traced back to any particular source.
Today’s critical infrastructure landscape makes up the fundamental building blocks of the connected world we live in. From the basic communication we enjoy through WiFi, internet and telephones to resources we may take for granted like energy, water, manufacturing, and transportation systems. Even our national security, such as The Department of Defense (DoD) and various Federal agencies, rely on similar operational technology (OT) environments. This critical infrastructure provides constant and reliable resources for our society, and it must be protected at all costs.
OT is the New Frontier for Cybersecurity Threats
According to Gartner’s OT Security Best Practices, “By 2021, 25% of asset-centric enterprises will adopt a hybrid model to secure operational technology (OT) environments with traditional security deployed alongside specialist OT security technology, up from 10% in 2018.”
Today’s critical infrastructure landscape makes up the fundamental building blocks of the connected world we live in. From the basic communication we enjoy through WiFi, internet and telephones to resources we may take for granted like energy, water, manufacturing, and transportation systems. Even our national security, such as The Department of Defense (DoD) and various Federal agencies, rely on similar operational technology (OT) environments. This critical infrastructure provides constant and reliable resources for our society, and it must be protected at all costs.
OT is the New Frontier for Cybersecurity Threats
According to Gartner’s OT Security Best Practices, “By 2021, 25% of asset-centric enterprises will adopt a hybrid model to secure operational technology (OT) environments with traditional security deployed alongside specialist OT security technology, up from 10% in 2018.”
As concern about climate change grows, it’s not always easy to think about what the oil and gas industry has given the world. There’s a legitimate sense of urgency about the negative impact that hydrocarbon-based fuels have had and are continuing to have on the environment and on the atmosphere. Even so, an honest accounting reveals that the modern world would be considerably poorer without them.
We burn natural gas to heat our homes and fire the power plants that provide us with electricity. We process crude oil to make the fuels that power our automobiles, buses, trains, airplanes, and ships, and it also serves as raw materials for the lubricants that keep engines and machinery of all types running smoothly. We use both as feedstock for petrochemicals and other substances that have changed the way we live – plastics, artificial fabrics, fertilizers, detergents, and many more.
As concern about climate change grows, it’s not always easy to think about what the oil and gas industry has given the world. There’s a legitimate sense of urgency about the negative impact that hydrocarbon-based fuels have had and are continuing to have on the environment and on the atmosphere. Even so, an honest accounting reveals that the modern world would be considerably poorer without them.
We burn natural gas to heat our homes and fire the power plants that provide us with electricity. We process crude oil to make the fuels that power our automobiles, buses, trains, airplanes, and ships, and it also serves as raw materials for the lubricants that keep engines and machinery of all types running smoothly. We use both as feedstock for petrochemicals and other substances that have changed the way we live – plastics, artificial fabrics, fertilizers, detergents, and many more.
Securing and monitoring your network is the ultimate goal. To accomplish this goal, teams utilize ICS security solutions designed to respond and manage threats in OT environments efficiently. To properly identify, detect, and respond to security threats and breaches, most ICS security tools focus on visibility, threat detection and monitoring, and asset visibility and management.
Implementing these security solutions, OT teams face complex challenges when it comes to architecting connectivity throughout these large and sometimes aging infrastructures that weren’t initially designed with network security in mind, including:
- Relying on legacy switch SPAN ports for visibility, that aren’t secure, reliable or available
- Facing different media or speed connections between the network and various tools
- Network sprawl with a need to reduce network complexity
- May require unidirectional connectivity for their monitoring tools
- Require a secure air-gapped solution for virtual environments
Securing and monitoring your network is the ultimate goal. To accomplish this goal, teams utilize ICS security solutions designed to respond and manage threats in OT environments efficiently. To properly identify, detect, and respond to security threats and breaches, most ICS security tools focus on visibility, threat detection and monitoring, and asset visibility and management.
Implementing these security solutions, OT teams face complex challenges when it comes to architecting connectivity throughout these large and sometimes aging infrastructures that weren’t initially designed with network security in mind, including:
- Relying on legacy switch SPAN ports for visibility, that aren’t secure, reliable or available
- Facing different media or speed connections between the network and various tools
- Network sprawl with a need to reduce network complexity
- May require unidirectional connectivity for their monitoring tools
- Require a secure air-gapped solution for virtual environments
In most parts of the world, power, water, and waste utility services can be taken for granted. Need to light up a room? Just flip a switch, and you have electricity. Hands need washing? Just turn the faucet, and there’s the water. Sink full of dirty water after scrubbing dishes? Just send it down the drain. No fuss, no hard labor.
It’s easy, right?
In most parts of the world, power, water, and waste utility services can be taken for granted. Need to light up a room? Just flip a switch, and you have electricity. Hands need washing? Just turn the faucet, and there’s the water. Sink full of dirty water after scrubbing dishes? Just send it down the drain. No fuss, no hard labor.
It’s easy, right?
The pursuit of competitive advantage has always driven organizations to embrace new technologies and processes to reduce costs and improve efficiency. In the last several years, IoT has been commonly cited as the “next big thing” that will disrupt a range of industries like manufacturing, transportation, and logistics.
What many operators may not realize is that adoption of large volumes of IoT devices will occur in virtually every industry, not just a few. Simply put, the scope of change this adoption will demand in the IT and OT ecosystem is enormous. Starting with this article, I’ll be sharing information about this trend and how you, as an OT or IT professional, can help your organization navigate the IoT revolution.
The pursuit of competitive advantage has always driven organizations to embrace new technologies and processes to reduce costs and improve efficiency. In the last several years, IoT has been commonly cited as the “next big thing” that will disrupt a range of industries like manufacturing, transportation, and logistics.
What many operators may not realize is that adoption of large volumes of IoT devices will occur in virtually every industry, not just a few. Simply put, the scope of change this adoption will demand in the IT and OT ecosystem is enormous. Starting with this article, I’ll be sharing information about this trend and how you, as an OT or IT professional, can help your organization navigate the IoT revolution.
Revolutions have a habit of creating new problems that their advocates did not anticipate, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution is no exception. For example, it seems safe to say that most of the engineers who overhauled industrial control systems (ICS) by linking them to the internet did so with the aim of expanding and optimizing functionality, not with the intent of creating new avenues for industrial espionage. Likewise, the bookkeepers who approved the introduction of connected systems probably did so because they were looking to save money and increase efficiency, not because they hoped to facilitate the sabotage of critical infrastructure networks.
Revolutions have a habit of creating new problems that their advocates did not anticipate, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution is no exception. For example, it seems safe to say that most of the engineers who overhauled industrial control systems (ICS) by linking them to the internet did so with the aim of expanding and optimizing functionality, not with the intent of creating new avenues for industrial espionage. Likewise, the bookkeepers who approved the introduction of connected systems probably did so because they were looking to save money and increase efficiency, not because they hoped to facilitate the sabotage of critical infrastructure networks.
With recent headline grabbing hacks and breaches, the possibility of disruptions in the energy and power, water distribution, manufacturing, and pharmaceutical infrastructure that society relies on everyday, is a reality.
The SolarWinds Orion compromise may have been headline grabbing to the wider public, but the teams in the trenches have long been aware of the vulnerabilities and have been working feverishly to shore up the defenses.
The US government, through the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has implemented a 5 year strategy “Securing Industrial Control Systems: A Unified Initiative FY 2019–2023” to address these challenges. And the Network and Information Security Directive (NISD) was recently passed in the EU, requiring critical infrastructure organizations to implement stronger cybersecurity and breach reporting for ICS, SCADA and OT networks.
With recent headline grabbing hacks and breaches, the possibility of disruptions in the energy and power, water distribution, manufacturing, and pharmaceutical infrastructure that society relies on everyday, is a reality.
The SolarWinds Orion compromise may have been headline grabbing to the wider public, but the teams in the trenches have long been aware of the vulnerabilities and have been working feverishly to shore up the defenses.
The US government, through the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has implemented a 5 year strategy “Securing Industrial Control Systems: A Unified Initiative FY 2019–2023” to address these challenges. And the Network and Information Security Directive (NISD) was recently passed in the EU, requiring critical infrastructure organizations to implement stronger cybersecurity and breach reporting for ICS, SCADA and OT networks.
