13 October 2005
Manufacturing and Control Systems Security—ISA leading the way
ISA has made its published and draft standards on manufacturing and control systems security available free of charge until the end of 2005. ISA is making the move to encourage understanding and application of the approved guidance in the two ANSI approved technical reports and to obtain even broader input to the next generation of standards that are under development.
"While today's more interoperable and standardized automation and communication systems bring significant business efficiencies, they also bring greater risk of unauthorized access with attendant disruption to business and safety," said Bob Webb, managing director for ISA SP99 Standards Committee on Manufacturing and Control Systems Security. "ISA has recognized the need to address this issue, developed consensus guidelines, and presented information on the subject at numerous venues over the last three years. ISA also is collaborating with many other organizations working on security matters, including the U.S. National Labs, PCSRF, CIDX, PCSF, AGA, and NERC. While many automation professionals are aware of security issues, relatively few manufacturers, users, and their architects, engineers, and systems integrators have adopted secure automation practices."
By making the approved documents available together with the most current drafts of standards being developed by the ISA SP99 committee, ISA hopes to expand the network of automation professionals, IT professionals, and business executives that will contribute to the application and refinement of best practices.
The published guidance documents and the draft standards are available at www.isa.org/securitystandards. Comments can be submitted to ISA at ISASP99@isa.org.
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