(41c) Cybersecurity Considerations for Today’s 4.0 Chemical Plant

Focus of this presentation is on a current technology scope going into US greenfield plants in chemical processing industries. Digital connectivity brings new capabilities and new threat vectors. Both are key aspects when it comes to the “needs” and “wants” of plant owners and operators. As industry professionals all of us involved with the value chains that serve our organizations need to be aware of what is the art-of-the-possible when it comes to cybersecurity in the chemical industry.

Getting to a status where you employ continuous cybersecurity monitoring, execute red/blue/white team exercises for penetration and vulnerability tests, assess your defense readiness levels, can simulate attacks and detection and recovery, starts with basic hygiene awareness for cybersecurity. Certifications, maturity models, standards, requirements management are among examples of what we need to consider when thinking about the day-to-day realities of a 4.0 chemical industry production plant. We will start with the basics and go through a multilayered cybersecurity concept with practical examples that are based on the defense in depth principle, which provides an effective protection. Devices, firmware, access points, policies, segmentation, patching, hardening, and protection enable monitoring and disaster recovery for chemical manufacturers.

This session is aimed at young, mid-career, and experienced chemical engineering professionals. During this presentation you will gain insights on current end-to-end approaches relevant to cybersecurity of a 4.0 chemical plant that is connected and secure, considers cloud devices as standard network devices, utilizes on-line predictive maintenance tools, supports AI and Edge approaches, applies digital network protocols such as MQTT and PROFINET, and enables frontline workers through no-code / low-code applications.