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ABB, IBM create IT security consulting services for industrial automation

10/25/2004

ABB and IBM have announced that they will jointly develop cooperative IT security services for automation customers in all industries. The services will help analyze security risks, design individual security programs, and implement and maintain security solutions.

ABB's Consult Group and IBM Global Services will develop cooperative service offerings to provide consultation for mutual customers. Both groups will act as one team to support managing security challenges.

Both companies will combine to offer a full scope of services for IT security in industrial automation. ABB will blend it's manufacturing automation environment solutions with the IBM's knowledge of cyber control technology.

"Attacks or intruders from outside the company, as well as unintentional or malicious security breaches, are threats for today's automation customers," explains Rolf Vahldieck, head of process automation technology consulting at ABB. "To address this, attention has to be paid to identity managemeny, data integrity, threat management and security governance. Security measures as applied to a specific installation should be proportional to the assessed risk in terms of probability and potential consequences of an attack," Vahldieck said. "Risk assessments, followed by proper design, operation and maintenance of an appropriate security achitecture and infrastructure help to protect automation customers from the negative consequences of security incidents."

The ABB and IBM agreement in IT security consulting services especially for industrial automation will support customers with: security workshops; security assessments; policy development; architecture development; implementation of security infrastructures; and security infrastructure management.