ARC EIF 2023 Review - Cybersecurity

ARC’s European Industry Forum, part of the successful series of worldwide conferences in Europe, America and Asia, has been held in Sitges (Barcelona), Spain on May 15 - 17, 2023. The event offered exclusive presentations and workshops on strategies and case studies in line with this year’s topic “Managing Industry Evolution in Times of Global Disruption” to its 160 international participants from 20 countries.

Cybersecurity for Digitalization & Sustainability

As more successful cyberattacks on critical infrastructure are reported, cybersecurity professionals must address the risk these operational technologies (OT) bring to their organizations. Investors, board members, customers and employees rely on their cybersecurity managers to protect them effectively. One of the most important aspects of protection is deciding how to secure critical infrastructure and its underlying industrial control systems (ICS) and OT automation. Critical infrastructure operators are increasingly targeted by cyber criminals. In the meantime, attackers are not only interested in making money, but in more and more cases they also intend to severely disrupt OT network systems.

The Cybersecurity track during the ARC EIF 2023 analyzed the changing legal situation for companies covered by the European Union's Cyber Security Act. An important requirement since May 2023 is the use of “Attack Detection Systems”. Examples of how compliance with the directive can be implemented in practice were part of the track. In concrete terms, this means that the systems used for attack detection must continuously and automatically record and evaluate relevant parameters and characteristics of ongoing operations. They should be able to identify threats on an ongoing basis.

The presentation by Dr. Ragnar Schierholz, from ABB "Implementation of NAMUR WG4.18 Recommendations" refers to the publications of the NAMUR Working Group 4.18 Automation Security, which deals with topics such as risk management, safety concepts, safety standards and safety assessment of automation systems in the process industry. A practical implementation of this recommendation was presented.

Klaus Mochalski, the CEO of German OT security provider Rhebo presented results from OT risk and vulnerability assessments conducted with energy and industry companies in 2022. He showcased common anomalies that allow adversaries to attack OT networks, enhance persistence and trigger disruption. The second part of his presentation answered the question of how industrial companies can establish OT visibility and cybersecurity in a way that takes OT’s specific requirements into account while keeping it simple, accessible and effective.

Mark Edge from the Israelian cybersecurity-specialist Cyolo presented a zero-trust access platform for secure remote access to critical infrastructure and sensitive resources. This access platform is designed to serve industrial control systems (ICS) without exposing them to cyber risks. According to Cyolo this solution is the only access solution that does not require agents, VPNs or proxies on the endpoints or network.

ARC’s European Industry Forum & Platform

We like to thank our sponsors, who supported the ARC EIF, and all our  speakers and presenters, who made the event interesting, exciting and memorable. To complement the Forum, ARC Europe offers its online platform accessible 365 days a year. Its goal is to maintain the flow of information, and to foster network opportunities. On the platform you will find information concerning relevant economic developments and information on automation markets, as well as our quarterly industry webinars. 

Materials and presentations from the Forum will be made available on our platform https://arc-industry-forum-europe.arcweb.com/en/ after registration, depending on the package chosen. Forum attendees can download presentation slides, view video recordings and receive further materials on the platform.

For more information, please contact Ann-Kathrin Blech (mailto:ablech@arcweb.com).