Cloud Security Alliance Releases Cloud Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) - Industrial Control Systems Security Glossary

Reference guide provides common language from which to launch discussion, minimize misinterpretation

SEATTLE – May 5, 2020 – The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining standards, certifications and best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today released the Cloud Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) – Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Security Glossary. Produced by CSA’s Industrial Control Systems Security Working Group, the guide serves as an important reference point from which to stimulate discussion regarding ICS security within an enterprise and to ensure that vested parties, both internal and external, are speaking a common language.

“As the first deliverable of the Industrial Control Systems Security Working Group, we felt that a glossary would fill an unmet need, especially for those not familiar with ICS and operational technology. Also, there are many terminologies used in ICS and in the convergence of IT/OT, and they may mean different things to different people. With a calibrated baseline understanding, security professionals and C-suites alike can engage in more productive discussions on pertinent security matters in ICS and OT,” said Dr. Hing-Yan Lee, Executive Vice President, CSA APAC.

IT and operational technology (OT) converge within ICS because of its access to the cloud via web-enabled services. The result is an integrated flow of processes and information that brings with it improved efficiency, effectiveness, and scalability. With these advances, however, come complex architecture, long-standing legacy systems, security complexities, and correspondingly, larger attack surfaces that increase an organization’s vulnerability. In a scenario where everyone from internal security staff to customers and third-party suppliers, including cloud service providers, have a role in maintaining a strong security profile, minimizing misinterpretation is key.

“This glossary is a perfect foundational document to begin bridging our current work in IoT into the realm of industrial control systems/IIOT,” said Hillary Baron, IoT Research Analyst, Cloud Security Alliance.

In early 2019, CSA released the IoT Security Controls Framework that introduced the base-level security controls required to mitigate many of the risks associated with an IoT system that incorporates multiple types of connected devices, cloud services, and networking technologies. The Framework offered guidance across many IoT domains from systems processing only “low-value” data with limited impact potential to highly sensitive systems that support critical services, while also helping users identify appropriate security controls and allocate them to specific components within their IoT system.

The Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Security Working Group aims to develop security guidance to encourage cloud providers, asset owners and device manufacturers towards adopting best practices to secure ICS.

Download the free reference guide Cloud Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) – Industrial Control Systems Security Glossary.

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About Cloud Security Alliance

The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) is the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining and raising awareness of best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment. CSA harnesses the subject matter expertise of industry practitioners, associations, governments, and its corporate and individual members to offer cloud security-specific research, education, training, certification, events, and products. CSA's activities, knowledge, and extensive network benefit the entire community impacted by cloud — from providers and customers to governments, entrepreneurs, and the assurance industry — and provide a forum through which different parties can work together to create and maintain a trusted cloud ecosystem. For further information, visit us at www.cloudsecurityalliance.org, and follow us on Twitter @cloudsa.