In the "Internet Plus" era, what are the challenges facing the industrial control system?
In the “Internet+” era, information technologies represented by mobile Internet, Internet of Things, cloud computing, and big data are also driving a new round of industrial revolution while promoting a new round of global technological revolution. At the same time, the industrial control system is undergoing an unprecedented transformation and transformation, using information technology to strengthen the integration and interoperability between systems, to achieve in-depth networked, intelligent, integrated development, thus changing the traditional mode of production and improving management. Level and production efficiency. Under this wave of change, industrial control systems need to meet new challenges with new development ideas.
The "Internet +" wave swept
(1) “Internet+” has triggered many industries’ convergence and changes
"Internet +" is a brand-new economic form. It integrates Internet technology, achievements, and thinking into all areas of the traditional economy and society to reduce costs, increase profits, and stimulate the innovation and vitality of the real economy. With the rapid development of network and information technology applications, the era of “Internet Plus” has come quietly. Information technologies such as the Internet have been combined with traditional fields, resulting in various types of Internet finance, industrial Internet, e-commerce, and smart cities. The new format of the Internet. Cross-border, integration, and change have become important trends in the "Internet +" era. "Internet +" contains tremendous opportunities for industrial and social change and will reshape the new model of economic development in the future.
(B) "Internet +" industry has become a trend
With the rapid development of technologies such as the Internet of Things and industrial big data, industrial production systems are becoming more and more complex, with higher and higher levels of integration, and more and more network connections. The networked and intelligent features of industrial production are increasingly evident. The development of integration with industry has become an irreversible trend. The "Industry 4.0" and the "Industrial Internet" in the United States are both the drives for the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, the establishment of core competitiveness, and the capture of future commanding heights. China is no exception. With the issuance of the "Made in China 2025" plan and the implementation of a series of related supporting measures, China's industrial Internet will also usher in rapid development. It is estimated that in the next 20 years, China's industrial Internet development will bring at least USD 3 trillion in GDP growth. Industrial Internet has become an important way for China to seize industrial advancement opportunities, achieve industrial transformation and upgrading, and innovation and development, and complete a historical leap from big to strong.
(III) “Internet +” opens up new requirements for the interconnection of industrial control systems
With the continuous penetration and spread of the Internet and a new generation of information technology, the industrial control system that occupies the position of “controlling the brain” of the industrial Internet is inevitably moving toward the “Internet+” direction. The relatively closed use environment of industrial control systems has gradually been broken, and the openness and connectivity have become stronger. This has made it possible for industrial control systems and various business systems to collaborate, and the links between industrial equipment, people, information systems, and data have become more Closer and closer, system integration, equipment intelligence, business collaboration, information sharing, decision-making requirements, and the entire process network have become the development trend of industrial control systems. According to data obtained by search engines of Internet industry control systems such as SHINE and SHODAN, hundreds of millions of industrial control systems have been connected to the Internet, including SCADA, PLC, RTU and connected computers, servers, and gateways.
"Internet + Industrial Control System" Faces Double Challenges of Development and Security
(I) The integration of innovation becomes the bottleneck for the development of "Internet + Industrial Control System"
"Internet+" is not limited to a prefix of industrial control systems. Simply connecting with the Internet does not form a true "Internet + industrial control system". Only by achieving "1+1>2" innovation and integration can the Internet and industry be realized. The control system has become an organic whole that is inseparable and promotes each other, thus bursting out with new productivity. However, this road to innovation and integration still faces many challenges.
The first is that key technologies urgently need to be broken through. The wave of this integration has only just begun. Can we use big data technology to achieve massive data acquisition, accurate analysis and integration feedback of industrial data, enhance the intelligent control and decision-making capabilities of industrial control systems; whether we can use the Internet of Things to implement sensors, controllers, Seamless connection between industrial equipments and remote equipment control to meet the interoperability requirements of distributed industrial control systems; whether cloud computing technology can be used to build cloud manufacturing platforms to achieve resource revitalization, on-demand access, cost reduction, collaborative manufacturing and even Global sharing and so on, there are many kinds of fusion technologies that cannot be imagined or are yet mature. All of them need to be designed and implemented down-to-earth in order to realize the perfect interconnection of “Internet+Industrial Control System”.
Second, the ecological environment has not yet been established. The features of the cross-domain and cross-industry application of industrial control systems under the “Internet+” will be more prominent. In line with “Internet+”, it will break the trend of system isolation, information islands, and industry barriers, and achieve model innovation and concept change. Strengthen the collaborative innovation of industrial chain and the sharing of production information, complete the integration of product design, manufacturing and marketing, and complete the integration of marketing processes, and build a complete ecosystem covering all the main bodies of the entire industry chain. It is to promote the “Internet + Industrial Control System”. The key to rapid development is also a problem that must be solved before us.
Third, the serious lack of cross-border standards. With the introduction of information technology, industrial control systems have become increasingly intelligent, transparent, open, and interconnected from the traditional stand-alone and closed. However, without a large number of uniform technical standards, service standards, management standards, and security standards, it is difficult to achieve system compatibility, data sharing, information security, and interconnection. Germany puts the standard first and regards the standard as one of the priorities of its “Industry 4.0” implementation. It believes that the standard is the inherent requirement for the integration of information technology and industrial technology. It has established a cross-industry, cross-disciplinary standardization working group and formulated the “ The Industry 4.0 “Standardization Roadmap” has made a series of forward-looking layouts in terms of standards, focusing on the development of urgently needed standards such as cross-border terms and reference models. Therefore, the problem of inconsistent standards in the integration of industrial control systems, interoperability and integration upgrades needs to be solved urgently in order to occupy the standard commanding heights of global competition.
(B) "Internet + Industrial Control System," a comprehensive upgrade of security threats
While "Internet +" can bring tremendous creativity and productivity to industrial control systems, it will also introduce more complex and severe security issues.
First, in-depth networking and multi-layer interconnection have increased the attack path. Industrial control systems, management systems, and supply chain systems have achieved interconnection, interoperability, and interoperability. More and more industrial control systems can be directly or indirectly accessed through the Internet, mobile Internet, etc. Two-way information of management networks and production control networks can be accessed. Interaction will become the norm, and the gradual deepening of the interconnection trend will cause the control authority of industrial production to move upwards. The production end, R&D end, management end, and consumer end can all achieve the attack on the industrial control system, which greatly increases the attack point, attack surface and By trusting the boundaries of the network, security risks are greater and spread across a wider area.
Second, the introduction of traditional IT products has brought more security holes. In order to adapt to the trend of the industrial Internet, manufacturers of industrial control systems increasingly use common operating systems, databases, and servers to enable third-party manufacturers to produce compatible accessories. These common and open technologies and products have Well-known vulnerabilities allow attackers to exploit existing vulnerabilities to achieve intrusion attacks. The Stuxnet virus for the Iranian nuclear power plant exploits multiple vulnerabilities in Microsoft's Windows operating system to achieve constant communication between engineer stations and operating stations.
Third, the protection system for emerging information technology in the field of industrial control is not yet mature. The application of Internet of Things, cloud computing, big data, and mobile Internet in industrial control systems also brings security issues such as sensitive data storage. The security theory and protection system of these emerging information technologies in the field of industrial control are not yet mature. Insufficient security protection means that it may be “failed” in the face of cyber attacks.
