Breakthrough solution from Invensys advances industrial cyber security

Invensys Operations Management has teamed with Tofino Security Inc. and MTL Instruments to deliver a breakthrough cyber security solution....

Triconex Tofino Firewall for OPC addresses historical security challenges, improves interoperability of critical safety systems

April 30, 2010 – British Columbia, Canada

Invensys Operations Management, a global provider of technology systems, software solutions and consulting services to the process and manufacturing industries, has teamed with Tofino Security Inc. and MTL Instruments to deliver a ground-breaking cyber security solution. The new Triconex® Tofino™ Firewall for OPC will harden industrial safety systems against network accidents and attacks. It is the first firewall that protects integrated applications based on OPC Classic, the world’s most widely used industrial integration protocol.

To enable greater interoperability of its Triconex safety systems, Invensys pioneered embedding OPC servers within its Tricon™ communications module (TCM). To ensure that these modules were cyber secure, Invensys teamed with Tofino Security, who had recently introduced the world’s first content inspection firewall for the Modbus TCP protocol as part of Tofino Security’s Tofino product line, to create a firewall specifically for Triconex systems. The two companies then enlisted the services of MTL Instruments to build the security hardware. The result is the Triconex Tofino Firewall for OPC, which is now available for Invensys customers using the Triconex TCM with the embedded OPC solution.

“Processors and manufacturers are continuously threatened by new and increasingly dangerous cyber attacks, which requires greater vigilance and security,” said Joe Scalia, portfolio architect, Invensys Operations Management. “The Triconex Tofino Firewall for OPC mitigates those risks by managing the traffic to and from the Triconex TCM, providing further assurance that a cyber incursion will not compromise integrated communications between the safety and critical control systems and supervisory HMI or distributed control systems. By tapping into the Invensys Operations Management ecosystem of partners and collaborating with the renowned experts from Tofino Security and MTL, we co-innovated to resolve a crucial client challenge and help them achieve safety excellence.”

The Triconex Tofino Firewall for OPC provides security features developed specifically for Triconex and its embedded OPC Classic server to protect against malicious attacks and other threats to network operations. Users deploy the new firewall in front of the Triconex OPC server, thwarting attacks and traffic storms before they reach the safety and critical control system. It automatically mitigates risks related to previously published DCOM vulnerabilities, while providing packet management and rate limiting to prevent network traffic problems that could have an adverse effect on the stability of the safety system.

For many companies, good network reliability, like that provided by the Triconex Tofino Firewall for OPC, is just as important as good security. With its unique features and capabilities, the Triconex Tofino Firewall for OPC can help avoid multi-million dollar accidents and untold environmental damage.

“Past plant shutdowns, for example, haven’t been caused by hackers. Instead they were the result of badly configured software causing traffic storms that impacted critical controllers and other systems,” said Eric Byres, security expert and technical officer at Tofino Security. “The Triconex Tofino Firewall for OPC does much more than block hackers and viruses from accessing the safety system. Its dynamic port management and built-in traffic-rate controls prevent many basic network problems from spreading throughout a plant."

“The next generation of the OPC Foundation interoperability specifications, the OPC Unified Architecture, incorporates similar cyber security protection, based on the excellent work of founding companies like Tofino Security, MTL Instruments and Invensys,” said Thomas J. Burke, president, OPC Foundation. “Launching the unique Invensys solution is the important milestone in demonstrating that users can secure the interoperability of OPC Classic within other applications without worrying about cyber security. As the use of OPC Unified Architecture expands, we look forward to collaborating with these market leaders to develop additional innovative, readily deployable solutions for the benefit of the entire OPC user community.”

“We were pleased to join Invensys in developing a firewall for their industry-leading Triconex safety solutions,” Byres said. “Together with MTL, we have delivered a solution that will improve plant safety and security, as well as enable manufacturers to deploy OPC to achieve new levels of interoperability for all of their operations, enabling, for example, tighter integration of safety and asset management systems to share data and help prevent trips.”

To download a free white paper or for more information about the new Triconex Tofino Firewall for OPC, please visit www.tofinosecurity.com/triconex For more information about migrating existing Triconex safety and critical control systems, please visit Invensys Operations Management at iom.invensys.com

About Invensys Operations Management

Invensys Operations Management, a division of Invensys, is a leading provider of automation and information technology, systems, software solutions, services and consulting to the global manufacturing and infrastructure industries. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, its solutions are used by more than 40,000 clients around the world in more than 200,000 plants and facilities.

Invensys Operations Management’s offerings are delivered under several prominent industry brands, including Avantis, Eurotherm, Foxboro, IMServ, InFusion, Skelta, SimSci-Esscor, Triconex and Wonderware. The company’s approximately 9,000 employees and its global partner ecosystem integrate these products and services to help clients collaborate across systems and enterprises in real time, extracting critical data to make faster and better decisions and synchronize their operations from the plant floor to the executive offices, aligning production goals with business objectives. To learn more about Invensys Operations Management, visit iom.invensys.com.

Invensys plc (www.invensys.com) is headquartered in London and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (ISYS.L), with approximately 20,000 employees working in 50 countries.

About Tofino Security

Tofino Security is a leading company in the field of industrial cyber security for critical infrastructure companies such as those in the oil and gas, power, chemical and manufacturing sectors. Its flagship product, the Tofino™ Industrial Security Solution, is a unique hardware and software security system that provides Plug-n-Protect™ Security tailored for control systems. Tofino is simple to implement, does not require downtime, and takes care of security while focus is maintained on keeping industrial processes running safely and efficiently.

For more information about BSI, please visit www.tofinosecurity.com

About MTL Instruments

MTL Instruments, a division of Cooper Crouse-Hinds, is a world leader in the development and supply of electronic instrumentation and protection equipment for the process control and telecommunications industries. Many of the world's most critical processes are monitored, controlled or protected by MTL equipment and the Group is distinguished by the quality and reliability of its products, its global network of sales-and-support centres and its acknowledged position as a thought-leader in this high technology marketplace. With 20 dedicated sales centres in 13 countries and a further 131 MTL representatives in 69 countries, MTL's expertise in Intrinsic Safety, Industrial Networks, Surge Protection and Operator Displays/HMI is unsurpassed. MTL Instruments manufactures the Tofino Security Appliance and sells and supports the Tofino Industrial Security Solution worldwide to the oil and gas, petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries.

About The OPC Foundation

The OPC Foundation, dedicated to interoperability in automation and enterprise computing, is an independent, non-profit organization that comprises leading manufacturers and solution providers in factory and process automation as well as providers of enterprise solutions. The OPC Foundation's charter is to develop worldwide industry-standards for data transfer offering multi-vendor interoperability and seamless connectivity of measurement and automation devices, systems, networks, and enterprise computing solutions used in the manufacturing and process industries, by leveraging open computing technologies. Board members and Officers are unpaid volunteers. Development of specifications is undertaken by volunteers from 400+ members worldwide.

For more information about the OPC Foundation visit www.opcfoundation.org

Invensys, the Invensys logo, Avantis, Eurotherm, Foxboro, IMServ, InFusion, SimSci-Esscor, Tricon, Triconex and Wonderware are trademarks of Invensys plc, its subsidiaries or affiliates. “Plug-n-Protect” and “Zone Level Security” are trademarks and “Tofino” is a registered trademark of Tofino Security Inc. All other brands and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

 

 

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