by Angela Guess

According to a recent press release, “The Industrial Internet Consortium® (IIC), the global, public-private organization formed to accelerate adoption of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), today published the Industrial Internet Security Framework (IISF), a common security framework that addresses security issues in IIoT systems. The IISF emphasizes the importance of five IIoT characteristics – safety, reliability, resilience, security and privacy – that help define “trustworthiness” in IIoT systems. The IISF also defines risk, assessments, threats, metrics and performance indicators to help business managers protect their organizations.”

The release goes on, “IIoT security cannot be considered in isolation. It comprises a complex set of industrial processes and applications as well as significant safety and reliability requirements. For example, although it is desirable to implement predictive maintenance capabilities in high-value electric power generation equipment, doing so may open the door to new threats. Adding security in this scenario can be challenging but without it, there could be serious consequences as a successful attack could cause injury, loss of life, or long-term damage to the environment.”

Dr. Richard Soley, Executive Director of the IIC, noted, “Today, many industrial systems simply do not have adequate security in place… The level of security found in the consumer Internet just won’t do for the Industrial Internet. In order to add security to an industrial system, you must make sure it won’t interfere with safety and reliability requirements. The IISF explores solutions to industrial problems that have plagued the industry for years. The IIC is also putting the IISF vision into practice in our testbed program.”

Read more at Business Wire.

Photo credit: IIC