Organization to Establish Certification Process for Secure Control System Products

Yokogawa has joined the ISA Security Compliance Institute, an organization of industrial technology vendors and end users dedicated to establishing specifications and processes for testing and certifying control systems products as a founding member.

The ISA Security Compliance Institute will work to establish a set of well-engineered specifications and processes for the testing and certification of security characteristics for critical control systems products. Conformant products will carry the ISA Secure designation, enabling suppliers to substantiate claims of compliance and provide asset owners with an independently validated identification of compliant products when making procurement decisions.

As part of being a founding member, Yokogawa announces Tatsuaki Takebe, Manager, Technology Marketing for Yokogawa’s Industrial Automation Systems Business Division as its board of directors representative to the Institute. “Threats to control and automation systems controlling critical infrastructure needs a global response and all suppliers of these systems must actively counter these threats in order to create a secure and reliable installation”, notes Takebe. “Joining the ISA Security Compliance Institute as a founding member and member of its board allows Yokogawa to make a significant commitment to the industry in assuring that Yokogawa’s control products are conformant to a defined set of security specifications.”

ISA Security Compliance Institute Members, working with technical staff retained by the ISA Security Compliance Institute, will develop a set of compliance requirements based on ISA99 security standards and other relevant standards, such as IEC or DHS recommendations. The program will be designed to cover everything from the device-level products up to gateway interfaces, business planning and logistics systems.

“The last thing manufacturers should have to worry about is the integrity of the products that control their processes,” said Andre Ristaino, managing director, ISA Security Compliance Institute. “The ISA Secure designation will serve as an industry stamp of approval that assures manufacturers the control systems they use are safe, reliable and interoperable.”