Cybercrime is a Security Risk
Imagine an automotive manufacturer in Stuttgart: In the middle of the morning shift, production suddenly stops. Belts stop; the swift movements of the parts robots freeze; the touch screens of the production engineers go dark. Later, it emerges that cyber criminals have attacked the manufacturer’s computing center and cut the power supply to the servers. In places where Industry 4.0 has been implemented, where the most important processes are controlled via IT, this is an expensive incident: It is estimated that the company would have to absorb 20 million euros in losses due to this production stoppage.
This example may be imaginary, but it is also quite real, as almost all of the large-sized companies, banks and insurance groups are outsourcing their IT to computing centers. These constantly process, analyze and store data, in particular in the cloud, which provides enormous additional IT capacities. Yet therein lies the rub: Server farms can be easily attacked via the Internet if their IT security is not robust. Hackers increasingly exploit these weak points to infiltrate viruses into code, to steal data or to cripple the power supply.
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Faulty IT Curtails Competitiveness
“Power supplies are the Achilles’ heel of servers,” explains Bernd Steinkühler, CEO at the Correct Power Institute GmbH. This company from Bochum specializes in constructing and monitoring server farms. The problem: Even though electrical supplies are regulated by standards and requirements, these are often not fully implemented. “There are many rules and regulations, and it is easy for operators to lose track. Monitoring is often lacking, and problems are not detected early enough,” states Steinkühler. This can have fatal results for a company. If the IT system does not work around the clock, then production and competitiveness are negatively impacted.
Analysis in the Cloud using Azure
Correct Power can provide remedies: The company has developed a monitoring concept for server farms that targets maximum power availability. “To meet the demands for availability and security in modern computing centers, we have to examine the electricity more explicitly in order to detect and evaluate the residual currents in greater detail. We test the current extensively,” explains Marcel Steinkühler, who is in charge of Sales and Marketing at Correct Power. Controllers from WAGO play an essential role. They collect electrical and environmental data from up to 15,000 data points per server farm and send them for analysis and archiving to Microsoft’s Azure platform, which is in turn managed by the telecom subsidiary T-Systems. “This provides us with concentrated big data intelligence. In addition, Azure offers a high level of data monitoring, because T-Systems functions as a German trustee to control access,” according to CEO Bernd Steinkühler.
Cloud-Based Control of Environmental Variables
Differential current values, which are detected in the server racks at the computing center, form the basis for Correct Power’s analysis. Differential current is, per definition, the vector sum of the currents of all active conductors at a specific point in an electrical system. Because the currents flowing in and out of the racks have to be balanced, this should be equal to zero. “When deviations arise, there is probably a fault, and our system sounds the alarm,” explains Steinkühler. The company also monitors environmental values like humidity, temperature and pressure. If it becomes too hot in the server rooms, the sensitive servers operate at reduced output and increased power consumption. In such cases, the temperature is automatically regulated by the climate control systems, and the cloud sends a warning message.
Security Updates Entail Immense Effort
It all sounds easy; however, it is based on a sophisticated system. The specialists at Correct Power considered data security extensively in their design. “Many standard market controllers simply do not offer what we need in this regard,” states Steinkühler. These controllers are based on Windows and thus require regular security updates. “This is associated with enormous expense and does not fit with our high security requirements.” Therefore, Correct Power selected the PFC200 Linux® Controller from WAGO. “Security by Design” – IT security integrated from the outset in the form of layer-based security architecture – ensures that data thieves will have serious problems with these controllers. “We are enamored of the hardened Linux® operating system,” says Steinkühler.
The PFC200 Controller:
Programming according to IEC 61131-3
Can be combined with high-level languages
Fonctions API et informatiques réunies dans un seul appareil
Normes de cybersécurité élevées (SSL, SSH, OpenVPN et pare-feu)
Le cœur de la chaîne de sécurité
Les concepteurs de l'entreprise de Bochum ne peuvent même plus imaginer leur concept sans le PFC200. Il transfère automatiquement, à intervalles définis, des valeurs sélectionnées au pare-feu de l'entreprise de sécurité Palo Alto Network. La communication est sécurisée par une connexion VPN chiffrée utilisant le protocole MQTT éprouvé.
Palo Alto évalue les renseignements, détecte les intrus et repousse les attaques contre le système informatique. Il transmet ensuite les valeurs « propres » via Internet à Azure pour un traitement ultérieur dans le nuage. « Grâce à cette étape intermédiaire, notre solution de surveillance est devenue le Fort Knox des données », explique Steinkühler.
Accédez aux données actuelles et historiques depuis n'importe quel endroit
L'Asset Management Cloud, développé par M&M, filiale de WAGO, reçoit les données par l'intermédiaire d'Azure. Un portail Web sert d'interface utilisateur et permet d'effectuer des ajustements, par exemple en ce qui concerne les renseignements qui seront stockés dans le nuage ou les valeurs mesurées qui déclencheront des alarmes. Les renseignements peuvent être clairement affichés sous forme de tableaux et de diagrammes sur un tableau de bord et dans la base de données d'entreposage de données prise en charge par Correct Power. « L'avantage de cette solution est que nous avons accès aux données actuelles et historiques, quel que soit l'endroit où nous nous trouvons », explique Steinkühler.
Un intérêt marqué de la part des industries, des banques et des compagnies d'assurance
Des entreprises industrielles, des banques et des compagnies d'assurance ont manifesté leur intérêt pour les systèmes de surveillance de Correct Power. Ceux-ci ont déjà été mis en place par des spécialistes de l'informatique dans vingt fermes de serveurs en Europe, en Asie et en Australie, et sont prévus dans dix autres. Dans le cadre de son prochain projet, Correct Power prévoit d'utiliser Azure pour la prédiction des pannes et de développer de nouvelles stratégies d'exploitation afin d'augmenter la disponibilité des serveurs. « Les problèmes résultent souvent de corrélations défavorables. Nous voulons utiliser l'intelligence artificielle, ce que l'on appelle l'apprentissage automatique, pour détecter et prévenir les erreurs », explique Steinkühler.
Les experts considèrent que l'apprentissage automatique et les réseaux neuronaux sont des thèmes importants pour l'avenir. Grâce à eux, il sera possible d'utiliser l'énergie et les processus et d'assurer une maintenance prédictive, par exemple. Les systèmes de production ne seront plus réparés lorsqu'ils tombent en panne, mais avant qu'ils ne tombent en panne. Cela permettra d'éviter les longues périodes d'inactivité et les coûts qui en découlent. WAGO peut également faciliter un pas dans la direction de l'industrie 4.0, car leurs contrôleurs peuvent être utilisés comme gestionnaires de données centraux pour les informations analogiques et numériques avec des liens sécurisés vers le nuage.
