“Today’s technological possibilities bring security challenges to new dimensions,” emphasizes T. Rauch. “For example, quantum computing will be able to break even the complex security mechanisms we currently rely on.” Artificial intelligence also plays a role. “New EU regulations, such as the recently passed Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), require companies to allocate intensive resources to address this issue, and that across the entire supply chain,” adds the manager. The question is: How can we address these challenges without panicking?
To meet these complex challenges, companies must adopt advanced technological solutions that take into consideration even developments in post-quantum cryptography, aiming to stay ahead in the ever-evolving race against emerging threats.
Hilscher is at the forefront of this effort: “As an expert in industrial communication, we bring our expertise to bear,” says T. Rauch, who has been with the company for two years. The “one-stop-shopping” concept allows the company, headquartered in Hattersheim, Germany, to offer a coordinated combination of software and hardware solutions specifically designed to protect against novel attack vectors. “This allows us to respond comprehensively to all new challenges,” adds the CTO, who is responsible for the technology development of the netX chips, protocol stacks and Industrial IoT at Hilscher’s headquarter in Hattersheim near Frankfurt as well as the devlopment sites in Berlin and Varna, Bulgaria. “We have the master key against new attack vectors.” He continues, “In the future, it will no longer be possible to ensure a high level of security using only software.”
“We incorporate into our solutions the expertise of the open source community and the Real-Time Ethernet and fieldbus organizations, of which we are active members. Being directly involved in these organizations also gives us a perfect understanding of emerging requirements,” continues Rauch. He cites CIP Security from ODVA, PROFINET Security from PROFIBUS & PROFINET International, and OPC UA Security as examples. The deployment location of the communication solution is also crucial, and the entire security lifecycle must be considered.