Efficient Plant Nov./Dec. 2021 - 17

feature | cybersecurity
identify and authenticate each other. Th e two options
you have for this security property-certifi cates and
pre-shared keys-come with some trade-off s. Certificates
off er a higher level of security. But pre-shared
keys have less impact on performance when establishing
connections because they don't require certifi cate
parsing and signature verifi cation.
Another consideration is whether you should back
up your CIP Security model. Creating back-ups isn't a
requirement, but it is a good practice and critical for
system operations. It helps make sure your fi les are
synchronized with your current security policy. It can
also reduce downtime should a soſt ware issue occur,
and you need to reset devices to factory settings.
CIP Security can play an important role in your
NOV/DEC 2021
defense-in-depth strategy by helping to fortify the last
level of the control system. But you may not be confi -
dent deploying this relatively new security mechanism
in your facilities.
Freely available resources can help. For example,
application technique manuals explain the
implementation process and standards-aligned design
guides provide use cases for designing and deploying
CIP Security across sitewide applications. EP
Jack Visoky is a Principal Engineer and Security Architect
at Rockwell Automation, Milwaukee, (rockwellautomation.com).
His responsibilities focus on productsecurity
technology, including security protocols such as
CIP Security.
EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM | 17
Implementing CIP
Security, as part of your
defense-in-depth system,
is one way to harden your
industrial control systems
from cyber attacks.

http://www.rockwellautomation.com http://www.EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM

Efficient Plant Nov./Dec. 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Efficient Plant Nov./Dec. 2021