Many industrial manufacturers are looking for ways to reduce their power consumption both to reduce costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Industry accounts for over 40% of worldwide energy consumption and 65% of its power demand comes from electric motor-driven systems. One way to reduce greatly reduce the energy required to run motor systems is to use what are called “VFD”s. Read more
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Our last blog, contributed by Thomas Nuth, highlighted the fact that industrial cyber security is now being discussed by heads of state within the international community – the Executive Order – Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecuritysigned by President Obama in February of this year being just one indication of the importance being attached to this issue. Let’s continue the discussion… Read more
The Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) is on in full force right now and Belden’s booth (7236) has been busy. Liaising with our booth staff I have heard that safety and security are hot topics with attendees this year. Well here is a topic they should know about, that is, why offshore networks need SCADA security with Deep Packet Inspection (DPI). Let me give you some context. The critical systems managing production and safety on offshore platforms are largely based on legacy SCADA and Industrial Control System (ICS) products and protocols. Many of these products are decades old and were never designed with security in mind. Yet nowadays they are connected to other systems using Ethernet and TCP/IP. That has been great for efficiency but it exposes mission critical production systems to malware. Read more Keeping operations running at target production rates is the goal of many of our customers. The cost of downtime is particularly expensive if you are operating an offshore oil and gas rig. Next week the energy professionals who do that remarkable work are gathering in Houston for the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC). This is a mammoth event that attracts over 60,000 visitors and fills up virtually all of the hotels in town. Belden is participating at the event, at Booth 7236, and today I am going to look at some of the offerings we are presenting at the show. Belden and Offshore Drilling Have a Long HistoryBelden has been in business more than 100 years and was fortunate enough to participate in equipping the first oil rigs to drill in the Gulf of Mexico in the 1930s and 1940s. Since then the company has become the primary supplier of data and control communication solutions for offshore applications.
For Effective and Reliable Signal Transmission Networks visit Belden® at the Mobility and Transportation Exhibition during the UITP 2013 World Congress As a leading global provider of world-class network and connectivity solutions, Belden has a dedicated product portfolio to meet the Transportation Industry’s need for uncompromising safety and reliability. In a sector where domain knowledge is vital, we offer innovative future-proof solutions for reliable network communication systems through mutually beneficial partnerships. As industrial manufacturers and operators continually work to be globally competitive, one area they look at for cost and efficiency savings is network infrastructure. The magnitude of the change happening with industrial infrastructure is very large — and the opportunity to play a small part in this change is one reason I have recently moved from our Tofino Security brand to the Industrial IT group. For those of you that don’t know me, I headed up the Tofino Security marketing group for five years and had the privilege of working with Eric and Joann Byres to pioneer a new approach to industrial security for the plant floor. This involves dividing networks into zones of equipment with similar security requirements and then protecting those zones with firewalls designed for industry such as the Tofino Industrial Security Solution. A key aspect of the Tofino solution is that it is designed to be simple to implement and maintain for those who work on the plant floor. Read more Editor’s Note: This article was contributed by Thomas Nuth, product marketing manager. Three years ago, the concept of industrial cyber security became a popular discussion topic within the industrial networking community. Now the discussion has risen to the level of heads of state within the international community. The Executive Order – Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity signed by President Obama in February of this year is just one indication of the importance being attached to this issue. What’s also interesting is the change in focus of this discussion topic. The key question has changed from an interested “Why do we need to secure our industrial network?” to a frantic “How do we do it?”
Obama’s Executive Order on Cybersecurity: A Sign of the Times? Image Credit: Mashable Read more If you have read my previous blogs on patching for control system security, you might think I am completely against patching. Guess what? I’m not against them! Actually, I think applying patches is a critical part of good security. According to US-CERT, about 95% of all network intrusions could have been avoided by keeping systems up to date with appropriate patches. If you never patch, you are leaving your system open to a decade of malware. What I am against is patching as a knee-jerk reaction to security vulnerabilities. You can’t expect your control system to operate reliably if you don’t have a controlled process for patching. In the words of Richard Brown, at Dow Chemical: “Patch management is about managing the risk of change”. Patches are changes to your system. Changes to your system need to be managed. One cannot blindly deploy new patches into the process control environment without risking disruption of operations. Thus careful policy and practice is required to balance the need for system reliability with the need for system security.
A successful patching strategy balances system reliability with system security. Image credit: A Perfect World Read more
Today, even though standards in North America do not require non-halogenated cables, incentives are in place. For example, builders can get Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) incentives for using LSZH (green) wiring; it is possible to get LEED Pilot Credit 54 for up to 2 LEED points per installation. LEED is intended to provide a standardized framework for recognizing and actualizing practical and measurable green standards in design, construction, operations and maintenance for building professionals. Read more
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The International Security Conference (ISC West) is April 10-12 at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas. Hundreds of security companies will be exhibiting. Belden will be there in Booth 3139 and show off its latest networking products for secure, efficient networks. Belden, GarrettCom, and Hirschmann products will be featured in the booth.