2025 Spring Meeting and 21st Global Congress on Process Safety
(72b) Industry 4.0 and Remote Monitoring: Navigating the Challenges of Interconnectivity, Operational Visibility and Cybersecurity While Reducing Total Cost of Ownership
Authors
In an era characterized by escalating cyber threats and data vulnerabilities, there is a vital and growing need for manufacturers to safeguard the integrity and security of their control networks.
However, this imperative often clashes with the growing demand for real-time data through interconnectivity and digital transformation (think: process automation) for operational visibility, particularly as industries seek remote technical support from OEMs and third party technical experts to help reduce the total cost of ownership.
Different connectivity options are available for remote cyber-secured support. This discussion will explore how “manufacturers” can maintain a low latency, high volume real-time operational data flow for monitoring, advanced process analytics, flow modeling, energy optimization and predictive maintenance. The challenge is to simultaneously take advantage of robust cyber physical security measures, benefiting the interconnectivity between the enterprise (IT) network and the operational technology (OT) systems.
One of the most basic and trusted technology solutions today is to use low-cost, small form-factor data diodes as a cyber-physical conduit for data passing from the secure SCADA/ Industrial Control System network (ICS) to a Digital Twin (data lake) on the less robust IT network. This enables a secure-by-design unidirectional data flow for a monitoring-only approach and enhanced operational visibility and reducing the traditionally hands-on operating expenses.
Large chemical and manufacturing operations can now protect their operational technology and increase real-time monitoring capabilities within the enterprise/IT network without exposing the critical infrastructure to external threat actors and internal vulnerabilities.
This session explores the power of expanded analytics with real-time data access to areas that were previously “air gapped” or a remote part of the industrial control systems.
Several real-world case studies highlight the ability of drawing real-time operational data from secure facilities, equipment, or networks. Further, the proven option of securely transporting that data to a cloud instance (e.g. commercial or on-prem) to implement alert management and energy efficiency processes which can also further reduce the total cost of ownership and increase the return-on-investment of an I4.0 remote monitoring solution as part of a defense-in-depth strategy.