New Hirschmann plug-and-protect OPC firewall released to provide robust cyber security for automation facilities.
Belden has introduced version 1.6.0 of its Hirschmann Eagle20 Tofino industrial network security system, including the new Eagle20 Tofino OPC Enforcer loadable software module (LSM). Developed by Byres Security for Hirschmann, the OPC Enforcer locks down any system using the widely installed OPC Classic protocol for superior security than can be provided by conventional firewall solutions. The result is improved network reliability for the process control and scada industries.
OPC Classic is widely used in control systems as an interoperability solution for interfacing control applications from multiple vendors. But, the technologies underlying it were designed before network security issues were widely understood. According to Hirschmann, OPC Classic has been almost impossible to secure until now. Thomas J. Burke, president of the OPC Foundation commented: “The Tofino OPC Enforcer is an important innovation and a great solution for the 90% of industrial networks that use OPC Classic.”
The Eagle20 provides two important benefits:
* It provides robust security and stability for systems using OPC Classic, thus preventing industrial network attacks and accidents. The product inspects tracks and secures every connection made by an OPC application, opening only the exact TCP port required for a connection between an OPC client and server.
* It is implemented without any system changes. The hardware is simply installed into the live network and configured using a drag-and-drop editor to select permitted clients and servers. Once installed, all OPC traffic is managed behind the scenes.
Bytes Security’s chief technical officer, Eric Bytes said that while a lot of the headlines around cyber security focus on hacker attacks, in fact many incidents result from internal network problems. “There are examples of past plant shutdowns, for example, which were the result of badly configured software causing traffic storms that impacted critical controllers and other systems. The Eagle20 Tofino OPC Enforcer LSM does much more than just preventing hackers and viruses from accessing the system. Its dynamic port management and built-in traffic-rate controls prevent many basic network problems from spreading through a plant in the first place. Now, networks running OPC Classic can benefit from the same pervasive security protection that has become standard for networks using other protocols.”
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