American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2019 - 74

SpecialReport: Production Operations
using these types of best practices while
also developing new ones that leverage
the right technology for the right purpose.
This includes strategies such as faster software patch rotations, which can make it
easier to maintain patches and configuration
changes with regularity to meet direct and
indirect threats. Some suppliers make security patch management available through
product life cycle services, as well as internal processes enabled by new secure
connectivity models and product capabilities
that can reduce outages.
Some process control systems not only
can detect, but also prevent, attacks using
methods such as "whitelisting," where
only predetermined programs are authorized to run. Such methods increasingly
are being incorporated into field devices
and systems used in upstream applications
beyond the control room to detect malicious activities and provide valuable data
to security personnel through standard
product features.

As mentioned, data availability is a
critical factor when it comes to performance, but it also is an area where IIoTbased innovations can be leveraged to
make operations safer. Oil field networks
and systems are much like a process control loop: If networks and systems are
not instrumented for cybersecurity operations, the operator cannot know what
actually is happening within them. Digitizing workflows and ensuring that the
right data get to the right personnel allows
operators to concentrate on making better
operational decisions that not only guard
sensitive systems and assets against attacks
but increase performance.
An example of integrating data systems
for enabling both improved decisions and
enhanced operational security is an automated solution that uses pervasive sensing
and machine learning technology to tightly
integrate static and dynamic data domains
and provide near real-time insight into
the efficiency of exploration, drilling,

completion and production activities. Automation suppliers also are developing
new secure architectures that enable access
to so-called stranded data and provide
appropriate security levels in legacy environments using modern technology
such as data diodes, digital twins, private
cellular networks and application-level
fire walls.
In a world where the question operators
must ask is not whether they will get attacked, but rather when (and how will it
impact the bottom line), it is important to
maintain a business-risk perspective when
it comes to the role of cybersecurity in
the digital revolution, now and into the
future. Oil and gas companies have an increasingly diverse set of tools at their disposal, but they must remain vigilant-even
paranoid-about protecting their assets.
People, processes and technology must
work in concert to achieve the right
balance of risk and business performance,
both online and off.
r

Peter Zornio is chief technology officer at Emerson Automation Solutions. He is responsible
for the strategy and implementation of Emerson's technology programs, portfolio direction
and standards across the group. He joined the company in 2006 after serving 11 years at
Honeywell in advanced applications, product and industry marketing, and technology roles.
Zornio is a member of the Forbes Technology Council and holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of New Hampshire.
PETER
ZORNIO

MICHAEL
LESTER

Michael Lester is director of cybersecurity strategy, governance and architecture at Emerson Automation Solutions, where he oversees the global implementation of cybersecurity
solutions in the company's products and services. He joined Emerson in 2007 after serving
22 years in the U.S. Air Force, with the final 10 years specializing in information technology
and network security, information systems management and business intelligence. Lester
holds associates degrees in information systems technology and aviation maintenance technology from the Community College of the Air Force, and a B.S. in management/information
systems from Park University.

74 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2019

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