The International Society of Automation announced Aug. 20 that its ISASecure subsidiary is partnering with the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) to develop a new certification procedure for components sold by suppliers to the U.S. government for use in national security systems (NSS). With a common goal of securing critical operations technology (OT) systems, this certification scheme is intended to increase confidence in the security of commercial devices. 

Consequently, ISA developed a set of security levels (SL) with specific cybersecurity requirements for OT components in accordance with the ISA 62443-4-2 OT cybersecurity standard. Meanwhile, NSA’s Operational Technology Assurance Partnership (OTAP) program developed and published six technical security requirements. They’re detailed in an NSA/CSS cybersecurity technical report, "Operational technology assurance partnership: smart controller security in NSS,” published in April 2025.

In addition, ISASecure is developing a separate, high-criticality, component-security assurance (HCSA) certification procedure derived from the well-established Component Security Assurance (CSA) certification scheme. Once it’s completed, and OTAP’s offices accepts it, NSA will use it as an approved certification mechanism to evaluate and add OT OEM components to the NSS OT product compliant list (PCL).

“This is a major achievement in the history of ISASecure,” says Mark DeAngelo, program manager at ISASecure. “NSA recognizes the importance of the ISA 62443 standard and the ISASecure program, which independently evaluates a product's conformity to the ISA 62443 standard. ISASecure's reputation and commitment to robust OT security precedes the NSA's decision to partner with us. Our CSA product certification set the foundation for HCSA."

An ISASecure HCSA certificate gives suppliers evidence to consider products for inclusion on the NSA's NSS OT PCL. In short, ISASecure’s certification is an important step before a smart controller can be purchased and installed in an NSS.

Vendors interested in developing smart controllers are encouraged to join ISASecure to be part of HCSA’s development. Stakeholders include manufacturers of components, and accreditation and certification bodies.