Cyber security for water treatment plants
July 2014
IT in Manufacturing
Protection and safety are primary objectives of any water treatment facility as compromises to critical water treatment plant infrastructure assets from cyber attacks can have a significant detrimental impact. Invensys has the knowledge, expertise and resources to help protect water and wastewater facilities by identifying and addressing critical gaps.
Wonderware’s Critical Infrastructure and Security Practice (CISP) offer a solution that provides a cyber-secure network infrastructure, securing critical systems with two key areas of focus:
* A lifecycle approach as opposed to a point solution within the control automation area.
* Optimisation through network management and secure data acquisition.
Water treatment cyber security solutions are designed specifically to protect industrial control systems (ICS) since increasing connectivity, proliferating access points, escalating system complexity and widening use of common operating systems and platforms have all contributed to heightened security risks. In addition, many of the ICS currently operating across the water and wastewater industry are being used in ways that were never intended. Many ICS were designed decades ago with little or no consideration of cyber security.
Water treatment cyber security solutions
Today’s reliance on ICS makes the industry potentially vulnerable to targeted cyber-attacks as well as accidental cyber events. Security is no longer simply about blocking hackers or updating anti-virus software. Today, a security breach can directly impact water and wastewater operations, potentially affecting the safety, reliability and affordability of the water supply and associated services – key corporate concerns tied directly to public health and the environment.
For more information contact Jaco Markwat, Wonderware Southern Africa, +27 (0)11 607 8100, [email protected], www.wonderware.co.za
Further reading:
How digital infrastructure design choices will decide who wins in AI
Schneider Electric South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
As AI drives continues to disrupt industries across the world, the race is no longer just about smarter models or better data. It’s about building infrastructure powerful enough to support innovation at scale.
Read more...
How quantum computing and AI are driving the next wave of cyber defence innovation
IT in Manufacturing
We are standing at the edge of a new cybersecurity frontier, shaped by quantum computing, AI and the ever-expanding IIoT. To stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated threats, organisations must embrace a new paradigm that is proactive, integrated and rooted in zero-trust architectures.
Read more...
2026: The Year of AI execution for South African businesses
IT in Manufacturing
As we start 2026, artificial intelligence in South Africa is entering a new era defined not by experimentation, but by execution. Across the region, the conversation is shifting from “how do we build AI?” to “how do we power, govern and scale it responsibly?”
Read more...
Five key insights we gained about AI in 2025
IT in Manufacturing
As 2025 draws to a close, African businesses can look back on one of the most pivotal years in AI adoption to date as organisations tested, deployed and learned from AI at pace. Some thrived and others stumbled. But the lessons that emerged are clear.
Read more...
South Africa’s AI development ranks 63rd in the world
IT in Manufacturing
The seventh edition of the Digital Quality of Life Index by cybersecurity company, Surfshark ranks South Africa 75th globally.
Read more...
Optimising MRO operations through artificial intelligence
RS South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
AI is reshaping industrial operations at every level in the maintenance, repair and operations supply chain, where it is driving efficiency, predictive insight and smarter decision making.
Read more...
Data centres in an AI-driven future
Schneider Electric South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
A profound transformation will begin to take hold in 2026 as AI becomes ever more ingrained in every aspect of life, and the focus shifts from LLMs to AI inferencing.
Read more...
Driving innovation in agricultural machinery
Siemens South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
A leading Argentine agricultural machinery manufacturer, Crucianelli has adopted the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio of industry software to drive innovation and digital transformation of its business, from product ideation and development to production and to its extended dealer network.
Read more...
Don’t let the digital twin drift from reality
Schneider Electric South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
The digital twins is a highly effective tool that offers real-world scenarios within a virtual environment. However, there is the danger of a disconnect stemming from a communication failure between the design, construction and operations phases of a project.
Read more...
Install and commissioning time cut by 50% thanks to digital twin insights
IT in Manufacturing
ECM Technologies, a world leader in the design and manufacture of innovative and modular low-pressure carburising industrial furnaces, has developed a solution that removes many of the installation and commissioning challenges relating to the development, testing and deployment of large-scale heat treatment plants.
Read more...
printer friendly version