As business and technology continue to drive toward more open and connected networks, control operations in industrial automation industries are becoming increasingly exposed to emerging threats that can jeopardize process integrity, decrease system availability and introduce unacceptable business risks. More than a year ago, there were no benchmarks or standards in place to qualify product robustness and provide operators with the information required to make informed business decisions when procuring network infrastructure. In 2007, Wurldtech, which offers network testing for embedded systems, along with a group of thought leaders from both the vendor and end-user community, created the Achilles Cyber Security Certification Program to supply the automation industry with a framework to validate and communicate product resilience. Today the program boasts certified devices from industrial equipment vendors such as ABB, Emerson, Invensys Process Systems, Honeywell, ICS Triplex and Yokogawa, with many end users formally mandating Achilles Level 1 in their vendor procurement requirements. This initiative is designed to provide a level of assurance about product quality and network resiliency that previously didn’t exist.
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