Addressing Cybersecurity in the Age of Industry 4.0

We are seeing fast-paced digital transformation in all industries, including the operational technology (OT) and Internet of Things (IoT) industries.

The different eras of industry, as seen in Figure 1.1, have brought significant changes in the ways businesses work. Revolutionary changes within the way that industries operate have been brought about by manufacturing companies becoming more secure, efficient, productive, and profitable:

Figure 1.1 – The different eras of industrial revolution

The computing technology of Industry 4.0 is powered by a connected network and has a digital twin on the internet too. This enables communication and information sharing. This networking is sometimes referred to as a cyber-physical production system. This makes organizations and industries more autonomous. First, let us look at how Industry 4.0 came to be:

• Industry 1.0: innovations of steam power and mechanical engines in Industry 1.0 led to the faster conveyance of goods and people, resulting in enormous time savings.
• Industry 2.0: Electrical power and electronic assembly brought down the cost of production and business became more profitable and agile to demands.
• Industry 3.0: With computers and programming logic, businesses started automating complete assembly lines; so, parts were built faster as the assembly line system became more efficient at performing tasks. However, during this revolution, things remained human-driven and machine-executed. The fast pace amazed consumers and businesses.
• Industry 4.0: This revolution was built on top of Industry 3.0, in which isolated devices were connected through computer networks. Meanwhile, manually driven operations were converted into fully automated and integrated systems with digital twins on the internet to simulate different tasks on devices. The entire field was positively impacted by all the insights incorporated from demand to supply. Connected devices brought more intel.

The entire journey from Industry 1.0 to 4.0 has made business more profitable, agile, and cost-effective. Automation and intelligence have also introduced visibility into the demand and supply of raw materials and enhanced the quality of finished products. Businesses are now more empowered by all the intelligence derived from the system to make the right decisions.

Microsoft presently invests over $5 billion in IoT research and is a pacesetter regarding this new technology, thus contributing to the overall Industry 4.0 revolution. Microsoft Defender for IoT (MDIoT) is accelerating this digital transformation for organizations, with comprehensive security across IoT or OT infrastructure. MDIoT provides agentless network detection and response (NDR). The technology is rapidly deployed and works with various IoT, OT, and industrial control systems (ICS). For IoT device producers, MDIoT provides a lightweight agent to enhance device-level security. It is a solution that interacts with Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Sentinel, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, devices, and external security operations center (SOC) tools. It can be deployed on-premises, in a hybrid setup, or via the cloud. MDIOT covers the IoT, OT, and the Enterprise Internet of Things (EIoT). This book focuses on securing OT.

Before we get to that, though, in this chapter, we will cover the following topics:

• How is Industry 4.0 being leveraged?
• Understanding cybersecurity challenges in the age of Industry 4.0
• Enumerating the factors influencing IoT/OT security
• How to overcome security challenges