Top 10 articles from September 2019

Oct. 1, 2019
From coverage of the 2019 Emerson Global Users Exchange to recommended texts, these were the Top 10 articles on ControlGlobal.com during the month of September 2019.

10. Control system cyber security organizations are still not focusing on what is most important –the process
The process can work without the OT networks but not in an optimal manner. However, the process cannot work without the control systems working. Read more.

9. Software eating the world is coming to industrial automation
Beginning last summer, software eating the world and disrupting established vendors is coming to industrial automation. Google, Amazon and Microsoft each announced their intention to provide data storage and related services to oil and gas and other process industries. So, what will happen as software eats the industrial world? Read more.

8. ISA publishes new HMI guidelines
The International Society of Automation published a supporting technical report, ISA-TR101.02-2019, "HMI Usability and Performance" that addresses the specification, design, implementation details, and management of an HMI focused on usability and performance. Read more.

7. Nuclear plant security breach result of employees mining cryptocurrency
ZDNet recently reported that the Ukrainian Secret Service (SBU) is investigating the breach of a nuclear power plant’s network, in which employees connected parts of the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant’s internal network to the Internet for the purposes of mining cryptocurrency. Read more.

6. Augmented, virtual reality in process automation: A mini series
Lately, there are more input types and data sources that can help human activities, including process control and automation. However, the problem is sorting through new formats like augmented reality (AR) and others, choosing the most suitable, organizing them, and using them to achieve better outcomes. Read more.

5. A year of growth and promise
Lal Karsanbhai, executive president of Emerson's Automation Solutions business, opened Emerson Global Users Exchange 2019 with a keynote address acknowledging the challenges and problems professionals are facing in all fields and how Emerson is growing and evolving to help its customers meet their changing demands. Read more.

4. The best valve position control
Here, Greg McMillan and George Buckbee show how to increase the rangeability and sensitivity of control valves, and then optimize the process by simple addition of one or more PID controllers, without any additional hardware or software. Read more.

3. Live from Emerson Global Users Exchange 2019
The editors of ControlGlobal.com and ControlDesign.com were on site reporting live from Emerson Global Users Exchange 2019. Whether you were at the event or couldn't make it, this news lineup will provide you with the highlights and key takeaways. Read more.

2. The US electric grid has been cyber attacked for years yet NERC wont' acknowledge facts
On Sept. 6, EENews reported about the “first” U.S. grid cyber attack, yet Joe Weiss' database has identified more than 300 actual control system cyber incidents in the North American electric system, including six major outages affecting at least 90,000 customers. Read more.

1. Control and automation books: What's recommended? 
Bela Liptak and other experts offer lists of recommended reading to two readers who asked what references do you recommend, and which are on your shelf? Read more.