The technology group Wärtsilä is among the founding members of a new alliance to provide a technical and organizational framework for safe and secure operational technology. The Operational Technology Cyber Security Alliance (OTCSA) aims to bridge dangerous gaps in security for operational technology and industrial control systems.
Operational technology (OT) encompasses the hardware and software used to control physical systems such as machinery in factories, power stations, ships or ports. The Internet of Things (IoT) and interconnectedness of production systems in smart factories means that there is a significantly and rapidly growing risk of serious security breaches in these environments.
“The compromise of operational technology used in production facilities is becoming a preferred stepping stone for cyber criminals looking to find a way into a company’s network. Wärtsilä has taken strategic actions to become an industry leader in cyber resilience to enable sustainable business success to our customers. Cyber secure operational technology is high both on our and our customers’ agenda”, says Mark Milford, Vice President, Cyber Security at Wärtsilä.
Other founding members in the OTCSA are ABB, Check Point Software, BlackBerry Cylance, Forescout, Fortinet, Microsoft, Mocana, NCC Group, Qualys, SCADAFence and Splunk. As cyber-attacks on OT and critical infrastructures increase rapidly year upon year, no company can fight this battle in isolation.
“We understand that a lot of our systems integrate with our partners’ systems, so we need to look at this holistically. The only way we can do that is to collaborate within our ecosystem of suppliers, customers and other partners, even competitors,” Milford states.
Preparing for the Smart Technology Hub
The OTCSA is providing tangible architectural, implementation, and process guidelines to OT operators and solution providers. These robust security guidelines will cover the entire lifecycle - procurement, development, deployment, installation, operation, maintenance and decommission - and address aspects related to people, process, and technology.
“While there are several guidelines and standards in place to make sure that the integrated technology is secure, we’re hoping to make those standards much more concise and easier for people who are using or providing operational technology,” Mark Milford notes.
For Wärtsilä, building-up secure OT environments is especially timely now during the process of creating the Smart Technology Hub, a new centre of research, product development and production, at Vaasa, Finland.
“Bringing the right cyber security solutions into the picture right from the planning stage of the hub means that security is built into the system,” Milford says.
To learn more about the OTCSA or how to become a member, visit: www.otcsalliance.org.
The OTCSA mission:
For further information, please contact:
Mark Milford
Vice President, Cyber Security
Wärtsilä Corporation
Tel. +65 62659122
mark.milford@wartsila.com
Wärtsilä in brief
Wärtsilä is a global leader in smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising sustainable innovation, total efficiency and data analytics, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2018, Wärtsilä's net sales totalled EUR 5.2 billion with approximately 19,000 employees. The company has operations in over 200 locations in more than 80 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.
www.wartsila.com
Operational Technology Cyber Security Alliance (OTCSA) is a group of global industry-leading organizations focused on providing operational technology (OT) operators with resources and guidance to mitigate their cyber risk in an evolving world. Founded in 2019, OTCSA is the first group of its kind to architect a technical and organizational framework – the who, what and how – for safe and secure OT. Membership is open to all OT operators and solution providers. Current members include ABB, Check Point Software, BlackBerry Cylance, Forescout, Fortinet, Microsoft, Mocana, NCC Group, Qualys, SCADAFence, Splunk and Wärtsilä.