CD114-LL-PassSafety
CD114-LL-PassSafety
CD114-LL-PassSafety
CD114-LL-PassSafety
CD114-LL-PassSafety

Better Control of Access to HMI Screens

Nov. 15, 2014
Can Passwords Properly Protect Operator Panels?

Here's my reality check. We need to do something better than use password protection for access control to operator HMI screens. This isn't a network cybersecurity thing. It's a machine operator panel thing. There's a lot that can go right and wrong on these machines including recipe integrity and safety concerns, and we can't trust that our customers enforce password protection properly. It becomes our problem when they have a problem. We learned that barcoded ID cards can be copied on a desktop printer, so that's out. The environments probably aren't practical for fingerprints or retina scans, and the costs aren't either. Before we try something, we'd love to hear about some successful solutions for this type of situation.

"There's a lot that can go right and wrong on these machines including recipe integrity and safety concerns, and we can't trust that our customers enforce password protection properly."