With the evolution of technology, manufacturing sectors are increasingly digitalized through solutions that optimize the processes carried out in these environments, reducing costs, eliminating human failures, and generating more productivity.
Among the technologies that integrate digital manufacturing, we highlight artificial intelligence, the internet of things, 5G, and cloud computing, which brought more dynamics to industrial operations, replacing human labor and changing the interaction with physical spaces.
However, the context of digital manufacturing presents several cybersecurity challenges that can be addressed by a PAM Security Platform and its advanced solutions, as explained in this text.
To facilitate your reading, we divided our text into topics. They are:
- Digital Manufacturing: What Is It and Its Importance?
- Technologies Present In Digital Manufacturing
- Cybersecurity Challenges Faced by Digital Manufacturing
- What Is the senhasegura PAM Security Platform and How Does It Support the Cybersecurity of Digital Manufacturing?
- Brief History of the Industry
- About senhasegura
- Conclusion
Enjoy the read!
Digital Manufacturing: What Is It and Its Importance?
Digital manufacturing is a concept that refers to the possibility of using digital technology to optimize industrial processes. This is possible through innovative approaches such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, 5G, Internet of Things, and advanced robotics, among others.
Applying digital technology in manufacturing enables efficiency and productivity gains, reduction of human failures, reduction of costs, and fewer setbacks when developing a product.
A company that invests in solutions associated with digital manufacturing still results in more security for employees and allows measuring the life cycle of operational equipment, in addition to offering a better view of inventory levels and schedules.
Another major advantage is the possibility of directing repetitive efforts to machines so that human labor can focus on more strategic services, which require creativity and analytical capacity.
Technologies Present In Digital Manufacturing
Here are some examples of technologies used in digital manufacturing:
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence refers to the union between various technologies, such as learning systems and algorithms, which allow us to simulate human capacity for reasoning and decision-making.
In practice, we are talking about machines that perform actions considered intelligent and learn through the large volume of data they are able to analyze.
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is a technology that allows one to store, share and access files on remote devices without the need to make large investments in infrastructure and support teams.
In addition to cost-saving, this solution gives companies the flexibility to deal with fluctuations in production, seasonal services, and scalability, so they can grow without investing in hiring professionals.
Big Data
It allows dealing with large volumes of data, varied and complex, that arrive at a high speed, making it impossible for traditional software to manage them. To do this, techniques and machines are used to gather important data for the organization, which cannot be obtained through human action.
Internet of Things
Internet of Things (IoT) is associated with the connection of different equipment used in our daily lives with the internet through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or mobile data.
As an example of items based on IoT, we can highlight smart TVs and refrigerators, in addition to numerous items present within companies, agriculture, manufacturers, etc.
Advanced Robotics
Advanced robotics is used to replace human labor in repetitive activities that require a high level of precision.
In this sense, robots consist of sophisticated and efficient machines that systematize and evaluate data and promote the integration of production lines.
Digital Manufacturing
It allows one to create manufacturing processes and products at the same time, through a system that integrates collaboration, analysis, simulation, and 3D visualization tools.
Additive Manufacturing
Known as a 3D printer, additive manufacturing refers to digital manufacturing by addition. It is a technology that allows the use of digital models to create physical objects, even when they take on complex formats to be produced without this technology.
System Integration
System integration is the connection between different systems that enables various sectors of an organization to act in a coordinated and automated manner.
In practice, this concept works by bringing together different software, thus ensuring the availability and updating of data in all systems.
Simulation Systems
The technology is used to plan a new system, replacing experiments with a real system with digital models, which describe the interaction between different variables.
Digitalization
Use of digital resources that impact production processes and business models, providing cost reduction, better use of time, and productivity gain.
Cybersecurity Challenges Faced by Digital Manufacturing
When it comes to cybersecurity, digital manufacturing faces several challenges, among which we can highlight:
- Industrial systems performing critical tasks, which may cause the interruption of operations;
- Industrial devices present on a large scale and always on;
- Many of these devices are not updated by their manufacturers, which increases the chance of zero-day vulnerabilities;
- Several operating systems do not have Security by design. Some do not even have access control for administrators in their administrative interfaces;
- Numerous operating systems are maintained by third parties, which makes it impossible to verify security practices;
- Digital manufacturing provides malicious actors with a greater attack surface;
- Lack of market perception on how to protect industrial technologies;
- Many companies fail to invest in awareness and adequate training in cybersecurity;
- Presence of different vendors with many communication systems and protocols;
- Remote accesses that allow third-party vendors to access devices remotely, often using shared credentials;
- The rapid introduction of IIoT, allowing the introduction of new attack vectors, etc.
What Is the senhasegura PAM Security Platform and How Does It Support the Cybersecurity of Digital Manufacturing?
As they adhere to solutions related to digital manufacturing, companies realize the need to optimize operational technology security management in order to reduce the risks of adopting these concepts in their operations.
In this sense, some guidelines and frameworks are used to protect industrial environments from malicious agents, such as the NIST cybersecurity framework, CIS security controls, and the ISA 62443 standard set.
According to the Center for Internet Security, 18 critical security controls must be established by organizations in their environments to ensure information security. They are:
- Inventory and Control of Organizational Assets
- Inventory and Control of Software Assets
- Data Protection
- Secure Configuration of Organizational Software and Assets
- Account Management
- Access Control Management
- Continuous Vulnerability Management
- Management of Audit Logs
- Email and Web Browser Protections
- Malware Defenses
- Data Recovery
- Network Infrastructure Management
- Network Monitoring and Defense
- Security Awareness and Skills Training
- Service Provider Management
- Application Software Security
- Incident Response Management
- Penetration Testing
ISA 62443 includes four types of standards:
- General: refers to concepts, terms, metrics, and uses related to IACS;
- Policies and procedures: address IACS criteria, implementation, and protection;
- System: refers to technologies focused on IACS, risk analysis, security, and criteria for systems; and
- Component: encompasses the life cycle and technical security of IACS components.
Companies that need to implement CIS Security Control and comply with ISA 62443 must invest in a PAM Security Platform.
This solution allows one to store, manage and monitor privileged access to systems and devices used in the context of digital manufacturing, allowing complete control over access to critical data.
Among the security controls associated with the PAM Security Platform, we can highlight:
A PAM Security Platform enables the visibility of an industrial park, allowing it to detect the automatic inclusion of devices connected to this environment, as well as their credentials.
Another capability of a PAM Security Platform is the control of the use of high privilege and impersonal credentials.
- Record of Maintenance Sessions and Privileged Accounts
A PAM Security Platform makes it possible to record the maintenance sessions of a manufacturer’s systems and maintain audit logs in privileged account sessions through video recording.
- Controlled Physical Access and Remote Access
Through the PAM Security Platform access groups, it is possible to establish who can view the password to access an industrial system through physical or remote access.
A PAM Security Platform makes it possible to track activities performed by all credentials, including third-party and impersonal, in real-time.
The capabilities of a PAM Security Platform make it possible to reduce the time required to resolve security incidents, including those related to digital manufacturing solutions.
Brief History of the Industry
Before the First Industrial Revolution, the manufacture of products took place through handicrafts and manufacturing. Later, in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, industrialization began with the use of human labor combined with steam-powered machines.
The first sector to be impacted by this mode of production was the textile one, followed by metallurgists and other factories that employed many people. In this period, the manufacturing process was still rudimentary and exports were precarious.
The Second Industrial Revolution is marked by more advanced technologies and manufacturing techniques and the emergence of multinationals and transnationals.
The Third Revolution, in turn, was characterized by the development of chemical, automotive, and consumer goods industries, in addition to being associated with a period of greater prosperity.
Then, it was the turn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, known as Industry 4.0 (or digital manufacturing), to revolutionize the sector, with the arrival of the internet in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
This allowed the use of concepts such as the Internet of Things, which makes it possible to replace human labor with automated processes, generating more efficiency and reducing costs.
Today, we are already talking about the Fifth Industrial Revolution, which should also impact the relationship between humans and machines, requiring adaptation to increasingly advanced technologies and increasing profit margin and customer satisfaction through strategic processes.
About senhasegura
We, from senhasegura, are part of the group of information security companies MT4 Tecnologia, founded in 2001 and present in more than 50 countries today.
Our main goal is to guarantee digital sovereignty and cybersecurity to our contractors, providing them with control of privileged actions and data, and avoiding leaks and theft of information.
In this sense, we monitor the management of privileged access, before, during, and after access, using machine automation. In this way, we can:
- Increase the performance of companies, avoiding the interruption of operations;
- Perform automatic audits on the use of permissions;
- Audit privileged changes to detect abuse of privilege automatically;
- Provide advanced solutions with the PAM Security Platform;
- Reduce cyber risks; and
- Bring the organizations that hire us into compliance with audit requirements and standards such as PCI DSS, Sarbanes-Oxley, ISO 27001, and HIPAA.
Conclusion
By reading this article, you saw that:
- Digital manufacturing consists of the use of digital technologies to optimize industrial processes;
- This concept provides efficiency and productivity to industries and allows one to reduce human failures and have fewer unforeseen events in the development of a product;
- Digital manufacturing also ensures more security for professionals, allows one to monitor the life cycle of the equipment more accurately and view inventory levels and schedules;
- Another advantage of digital manufacturing is the possibility of directing repetitive activities to machines so that human labor can focus on strategic tasks;
- Some technologies present in the digital manufacturing can be highlighted: artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data, internet of things, advanced robotics, digital manufacturing, additive manufacturing, system integration, simulation, and digitalization systems;
- The challenges of digital manufacturing include the execution of critical tasks by industrial systems, the maintenance of industrial systems by third parties, which does not make it impossible to verify security practices, and a greater attack area;
- The senhasegura PAM Security Platform supports the cybersecurity of digital manufacturing through hardware asset inventory, permissions control, recording of maintenance sessions and privileged accounts, controlled physical access and remote access, account tracking, and incident response.
- Finally, you have seen some characteristics of industrial revolutions that have changed the relationship between people, machines, and work.
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