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New Heights for Achilles Certification
October 29, 2010
From Wurldtech Press Release
Vancouver, British Columbia - Wurldtech Security Technologies, a global leader in cyber security testing and certification solutions for critical infrastructure stakeholders, today announced the latest updates to their globally-recognized industrial cyber security certification program - including the latest high-profile certifications which brings the total number of process automation, control and safety systems to 25.
Developed in 2007 with the cooperation of key industrial stakeholders around the world, the Achilles certification program was designed to provide a benchmark for the development and deployment of secure process automation, control and safety systems. The process subjects any Ethernet-enabled system to thousands of scenario-based network attacks under real-world conditions and monitors for communications resilience to ensure overall system integrity. The cyber security certification growth curve continues to escalate as the manufacturing automation and utility industries see cyber vulnerabilities as a continuing threat to their businesses.
"As a community we need to understand that we all have roles to play to improve the resilience of our critical industrial networks and certification is a great way for Vendors to validate the robustness of the systems being supplied to industrial end-users," said Peter Kwaspen, with Shell's strategy and development area in its control & automation systems engineering department. "The Achilles Certified designation saves Shell a lot of time in the specification and procurement process and provides us with the assurance that the process control systems we buy have met an industry-accepted benchmark for security and robustness."
"By integrating certification testing into the development life-cycle of their critical automation, control and safety systems, equipment manufacturers can have an additional level of assurance that network stack communications are safe, secure and reliable," said Tyler Williams, President and co founder of Wurldtech Security Technologies. "The announcement of the first certified products in the smart grid and industrial wireless domains from Emerson and Sensus, reflects a strong commitment by these organizations to be ahead of the curve for cyber security."
FlexnetTM Metering System The First In Smart Grid Ecosystem To Be Achilles Certified™
Sensus, a leading supplier of metering solutions, announced that their FlexNet 2.2 communications system is the Smart Grid industry's first Achilles Certified™ metering system. During the six-month certification process, the technology underwent a battery of rigorous tests to identify and eliminate vulnerabilities.
"Sensus has again demonstrated its leadership position by reshaping the public perception of Smart Grid security with this first ever AMI Achilles certification," said Peter Mainz, President and CEO of Sensus. "Our utility customers recognize that independently verified and repeatable assurances of security are critical for defining a reliable standard of security for the entire Smart Grid industry."
Emerson's Smart Wireless Gateway is Achilles Certified™
In the move to establish a leadership position in secure industrial wireless solutions, Emerson Process Management recently announced that the Smart Wireless Gateway is the first wireless device to be Achilles Certified and the second Emerson system to reach the internationally recognized benchmark for communications robustness.
"Emerson has taken a leadership role with respect to industrial cyber security and is a member of a small group of major vendors who have made an organization-wide commitment to improving cyber throughout their product lines," said Kevin Yoo, Achilles Certification Program Lead at Wurldtech.
"From the start, security has been a top priority for Emerson Smart Wireless solutions. Incorporating the Achilles certification program into our product development process builds upon that foundation and shows our continued commitment to providing secure and reliable solutions," said Jeff Potter, Emerson's Security and IT Integration Manager.
Invensys Operations Management Announces First Achilles Certified™ Industrial Workstation
Invensys Operations Management's I/A Series Model P92 workstations are the first host-based devices (HBD) to achieve the Achilles Certified designation, which include HMIs, engineering workstations, historian servers and domain controllers.
"Our customers demand the utmost in secure process control systems," said Ernie Rakaczky, Invensys Operations Management security program manager. "We see the certification of the Foxboro I/A Series Operator Workstations as another step toward helping our clients achieve safety and control excellence, and look forward to driving more of our products, applications and practice though a defined Achilles Certification."
Wind River's VxWorks Becomes First Real-Time Operating System Certified To Achilles Level 1
Wind River's VxWorks is the first real-time operating system to be certified under the Achilles certification program. This certification enables Wind River's customers in the process automation, power and energy, oil and gas, transportation, and medical market segments to deploy VxWorks with certified defenses against cyber attacks.
"As cyber threats to mission-critical systems continue to grow in frequency and complexity, it is critical to have a secure infrastructure that protects vital data against hackers," said Jens Wiegand, GM of industrial and medical solutions at Wind River.
VxWorks meets the Achilles certification conformance requirements at Gigabit Ethernet, passing 100Mbit and 1GigE certifications, which are recognized by most industrial and medical manufacturers to defend control devices against increased exposure to cyber security attacks.
View the Press Release