How to protect the information security of machines?

In the industrial internet era, machines will be more and more connected to each other. Because so much data is transmitted between different devices, information security has become a very important issue for companies. Ari Kuukka, Manager, Remote Delivery, at Konecranes, shares five most important information security issues that companies need to take into account when they are dealing with big chunks of data.

The connectivity of industrial equipment provides companies with enormous business benefits. Being able to remotely diagnose equipment usage and health and even correct the equipment’s faults is a key factor in decreasing equipment downtime – maximum machine uptime is, of course, the main objective we’re all trying to reach. With real time equipment usage and health data, we can optimize future maintenance of the equipment.

Many technologies, such as sensors and wireless communication, have been utilized for the industrial internet for some time, but so far security has not been at the center of it. As the amount of data has increased, it now provides detailed information about equipment usage, but it also makes data privacy a big priority for companies.

In the future, security has to be a top priority when designing and developing different solutions for our customers. How can data security on machines then be ensured? Ari Kuukka, Manager, Remote Delivery, shares five important information security issues that need to be taken into consideration when dealing with large amounts of private information.

1. Design security. Consider the information security aspects of your solution or service already at its design phase, as building security for an already implemented service can be difficult.

2. Prepare for equipment connectivity. Providing industrial equipment with remote connectivity introduces new types of questions that need to be taken into account. For example, when providing an equipment user interface with remote access, you should plan where and how to authenticate and authorize remote user access.

3. Understand your users and your data. Providing high-level information security can sometimes be a balancing act between providing good user experience and the right amount of data. How can we attract users with simple usability, but also provide them with enough interesting information? The better you understand what your customers need and how they will use your service and the data, the easier it will be to find the right balance between these two issues.

4. Look at the whole lifecycle of the data. Machine data can go through many different services and components, from the equipment sensor to communications infrastructure and data transfer service to data storage and analysis services and, finally, to the end user web portals and mobile devices. Look at both the big picture and all the individual components from a security perspective in order to provide a high level of information privacy.

5. Information security is not just about technology. In addition to the technical security features, we must review the processes and methods related to providing the service, for example in granting access to the service and data. The wider the audience is and the more different levels of access to sensitive data you need, the more important the above mentioned aspects become.

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