Because more network connections, automation and device interoperability need better cybersecurity, ODVA’s members and leadership charted their progress on tackling all four at their 24^th annual conference on Oct. 20-22 in Faro, Portugal.

The event attracted more than 100 automation and networking professionals from end-user and suppliers organizations, who attended more than 20 technical sessions and end-user presentations covering IPv6, cybersecurity, time synchronization, functional safety, OpenAPI engineering workflows, robotics interfaces, electronic data sheets, firmware updates, process automation, and other emerging industrial automation requirements.

“EtherNet/IP has always evolved in response to the needs of the industrial automation community,” said Dr. Al Beydoun, president and executive director at ODVA. “The developments highlighted at this year’s annual meeting demonstrate that evolution is continuing across some of the most important challenges facing our industry—cybersecurity, interoperability, process automation and the integration of new Ethernet technologies. Our focus remains on providing end users with an open, interoperable, and sustainable technology ecosystem while giving vendors a strong foundation on which to develop the next generation of industrial products.”

For instance, the event’s two application presentations demonstrated the expanding use of EtherNet/IP in process and specialized industrial environments. Pat Koenig of VEGA Americas Inc. presented “EtherNet/IP over Ethernet-APL plastics plant,” highlighting the application of EtherNet/IP and Ethernet-Advanced Physical Layer (Ethernet-APL) in process automation. Christian Seiler of AUMA presented “EtherNet/IP salmon farm and wastewater treatment plant,” demonstrating how  EtherNet/IP in demanding and diverse applications. A third and final keynote presentation by Joe Labeau of Meta, “A data center's motivation for IPv6,” made the case for IPv6 with EtherNet/IP from an end users’ perspective. 

CIP Security certified

ODVA also announced at the conference that its CIP Security specification has been formally certified by TÜV Rheinland as successfully meeting applicable requirements of the IEC 62443-4-2 at Security Level Capability 3 (SL-C 3). This level protects against intentional violation using sophisticated means from attackers with moderate resources, industrial automation and control system (IACS)-specific skills and moderate motivation. Achieving formal certification that CIP Security complies with IEC 62443 reinforces ODVA’s position that it’s the definitive security framework for EtherNet/IP products, which simplifies the compliance path for suppliers incorporating CIP Security.

As part of the IEC 62443 standards, IEC 62443-4-2 defines technical cybersecurity requirements for components used in an IACS. CIP Security is an application layer network extension of EtherNet/IP that provides data integrity (rejecting altered data), authentication (verifying trusted identities), authorization (blocking unauthorized commands), and confidentiality/encryption via transport layer security (TLS) and datagram transport layer security (DTLS) for automation devices.

Certifying CIP Security, and using it in products, reduces the barrier for suppliers seeking to achieve their own IEC 62443-4-2 certifications. This certification also firmly establishes CIP Security as the natural compliance tool to meet requirements presently being imposed by the European Union’s (EU) Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) because it satisfies core technical and secure-by-design requirements related to confidentiality, integrity and authentication. For example, CRA was created to strengthen cybersecurity in a broad range of products with digital elements and connectivity, so it pertains to many products used in all types of operational technology (OT) applications.

“Achieving this certification is a significant accomplishment, and further strengthens the position of EtherNet/IP as a leading secure industrial network technology,” adds Beydoun. “This represents an important milestone for EtherNet/IP technology, further demonstrates ODVA's commitment to advancing secure industrial communications, and supporting the cybersecurity needs of our members and the broader industrial automation community.”