Strengthen Industrial Cyber Security

Moxa has introduced its new industrial cybersecurity solution consisting of the EtherCatch IEC-G102-BP series IPS, the next generation EtherFire IEF-G9010 series firewall and the security management software Security Dashboard Console. This solution will secure network defense for mission-critical manufacturing and infrastructure areas and enable business owners to quickly and safely return to normal.

When companies resume production after their factories have been idle for several weeks or even months, they quickly realize that it is difficult to operate production processes that are designed for maximum efficiency. To ensure that social distancing guidelines are followed, processes are reorganized to reduce tasks that require multiple employees to complete.
Connecting more field devices, aggregating data and performing remote monitoring to ramp up production have become the new normal for companies. However, increasing networking between operational engineering (OT) and information technology (IT) also increases the attack surface and therefore introduces potential cyber threats into the previously isolated industrial networks. Ultimately, the challenges that companies have to face in order to be reopened quickly and safely are becoming increasingly difficult.

According to the Global Risks Report 2020 of the World Economic Forum, large-scale cyber attacks and the resulting collapse of critical information infrastructures and networks pose a great risk to the global economy. As the world struggles to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are also persistent ones Efforts to contain virtual viruses in industrial environments. In the first five months of 2020, several cybersecurity incidents affected critical manufacturing processes and infrastructures. For example, production processes in the supply, health and manufacturing industries were disrupted by malware attacks. It is critical for companies to reduce potential cybersecurity risks, which can hinder their ability to get their industrial processes going again.

Increasing production to bridge the gap between supply and demand, especially for the high-tech manufacturing industry, is now a top priority for our customers. Our customers have asked us how we can improve the security of industrial networks while maintaining operations Our industrial cybersecurity solution is the answer, encompassing critical IT cyber security technologies such as an intrusion prevention system (IPS), a key component of defense-in-depth strategies that are specifically designed to protect OT networks from cyber threats, without disrupting industrial operations, said Minghao Cheng, product manager of Moxa's Industrial Network Security Unit.

Since system availability is often the most important aspect in OT systems, IT cybersecurity solutions cannot meet the requirements for securing industrial networks. For example, there are OT systems that have old devices and cannot apply security patches, although the IT security guidelines have made it clear that security patches are available and should be updated if necessary. In some scenarios, system operations must be stopped before security updates can be performed, which business owners find less than ideal. Since OT systems also communicate via industrial protocols, this communication is often invisible and requires tailor-made software to interpret it. A more effective approach, such as OT-centered deep packet inspection (DPI), is needed to prevent operations from being impacted by cyber threats and attacks and to ensure that businesses can return to normal. Moxa's industrial cybersecurity solution can help address these challenges. The solution consists of next-generation EtherCatch IEC-G102-BP Series IPS for industry, next-generation EtherFire IEF-G9010 Series IPS for industry and Security Dashboard Console (SDC) security management software that proactively protects OT systems from malicious cyber activity protect, quickly fix weaknesses on affected OT devices using virtual patching and easily improve the visibility of industrial networks.

Moxa's industrial cybersecurity solution:

1. Protect OT systems from malicious cyber activity

The next generation industrial IPS firewall of the EtherCatch series and the next generation industrial firewall of the EtherFire series protect critical systems such as PLCs and HMIs on the edge of OT networks. EtherCatch and EtherFire, which are equipped with OT-centered DPI technology, can spy on network traffic and give users an overview of existing systems and connections, which enables administrators and operators to check the status of current OT systems through fine-grained behavior monitoring and cyber control -Understand activities.

2. Pattern-based virtual patching

The frequent application of patches significantly reduces the risk to a system from cyber threats. In OT environments, however, this remains a critical challenge. Virtual patching technologies can complement existing patch management processes by shielding them against vulnerabilities. Virtual patching acts as an agentless emergency security tool that network administrators and operators can quickly use to fix vulnerabilities on affected OT devices.

3. Real-time visibility and central management

Moxa's Security Dashboard Console (SDC) includes an intuitive, real-time management function for administrators and operators to manage the EtherCatch and EtherFire series from one place. The SDC can orchestrate and automate security policies, monitor network activity in real time at a glance, and quickly perform policy, firmware and pattern updates for the EtherCatch and EtherFire series.

The return to normality increases the challenges of OT / IT convergence, especially for cybersecurity, said Samuel Chiu, general manager of Moxa Networking Co. The pandemic is accelerating the introduction of cybersecurity. We are committed to ours To expand our portfolio to further support our customers on their path to digitization, our customers will benefit from our industrial cybersecurity solution with centralized management tailored to OT networks, enabling IT managers, operations managers and manufacturers, facilities and remote locations to secure.

Moxa's industrial cyber security solution includes network security devices - the next generation industrial IPS of the EtherCatch IEC-G102-BP series and the security management software Secure Dashboard Console (SDC) are now available. The next generation industrial firewall of the EtherFire IEF-G9010 series will be available in the third quarter of 2020.