Digital security: The key to sustainable smart manufacturing
On the afternoon of June 11, 2024, FPT IS and Cisco Vietnam successfully organized the workshop “Security Solutions for Digital Transformation in Smart Manufacturing”. The event, focusing on security in smart factories, attracted the attention of more than 30 companies.
Today’s remarkable improvements in digital transformation are empowering the optimization of enterprises’ operations and production and, at the same time, making security one of the top priorities. Since businesses’ activities can be seriously impacted by data losses and production downtime, the application of information security solutions is an essential step in their digitalization journey. Responding to these needs, the workshop provided an in-depth perspective on challenges and optimal security methods for businesses during their digital transformation process
Speaking at the opening of the event, Mr. Nguyen Huu Dang Khoa, Sales Director of Cisco Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, and Mr. Tran Trung Thanh, FPT IS’s Branch Director in Ho Chi Minh City, expressed their warm thank to the participating companies. The workshop was held in a cozy space, aiming to offer valuable information for the application of technology in businesses’ development process.
Sharing FPT’s perspective on digital transformation in smart manufacturing, Mr. Le Minh Quan, Director of akaMES Platform Development Center, stated that automation is the key to meeting future’s needs. By adopting the industry’s Digital Manufacturing methodology and Artificial Intelligence (AI), FPT IS’s akaMES solution enhances production quality through optimized real-time monitoring and core-task-oriented analysis and handling, thus saving time and resources, strengthening security, and achieving a closely linked operating process. Applying technology to production helps improve on-time delivery processes while limiting product recalls or delays.
Currently, factories are digitalizing and applying new technologies such as AI and IoT to production stages to improve operating processes and accelerate products to market. This transition has disrupted traditional closed and isolated industrial control network system, making it vulnerable to increasingly serious cyberattacks and data security threats. Industrial control system security, in this context, needs to be a top priority. However, this poses a huge challenge as standard information technology (IT) security solutions and methods do not meet cybersecurity requirements in operational technology (OT).
To provide businesses with a clear visual view of the matter, Mr. Le Van Hoang Trung, Head of FPT IS Solution Consulting Team, shared how to build a security system for a factory. According to Mr. Trung, there are four major tasks a plant needs to undertake to develop its security system. First, install the firewall equipment between the IT and OT networks since it acts as a foundation of the security system. Second, prepare a full summary of the enterprise’s OT devices with detailed information to formulate appropriate policies. Third, adopt solutions to separate the factory’s industrial control system (ICS) into small areas to enforce proper security policies. And finally, integrate security appliances into an Extended Detection and Response (XDR) solution for risk level assessment, risk management, and the formulation of overall information security strategies.
To optimize these processes, Mr. Trung introduced the new security solution, Cisco Cyber Vision, tailored for the development of security infrastructure and the application of risk management and security enhancement policies.
The workshop concluded with valuable information shared about the application of security technologies to manufacturing process, geared towards the goal of Net Zero – sustainable development. Embarking on digital transformation is a long journey, and the first step is ensuring security during production operations for companies’ uninterrupted, safe, and effective business growth.
