Securing the Plant Network (sidebar)

One interesting twist in plant network security comes from the recent explosion of outsourced manufacturing. In many instances, a contract manufacturer will produce products for competing companies. That means the plant network may contain production information from two competitors.

“A lot of manufacturing plants are no longer owned by the brand owners, and that adds a fantastic amount of security issues,” says Fadi Chehade, chairman and chief executive officer of Viacore Inc., an Irvine, Calif., company that helps manufacturers integrate data systems. “The plant may be producing shoes for both Nike and Adidas at the same time. Or they may be manufacturing gadgets with competing high tech intellectual property. The management of that information takes on a complex dimension.”

Chehade notes that some companies attempt to solve the problem within the software, but many companies resort to using separate hardware to keep competitor data apart. “It’s not always handled well in the software, so some contract manufacturers manage it by using separate hardware.” He notes that the separation is not at the workstation level but rather on the next layer. “They end up buying more Cisco (networking) equipment.” He notes that software is ultimately a superior solution because it is less expensive. But not all brand owners trust that software is adequate for keeping their data secure.

See the story that goes with this sidebar: Securing the Plant Network