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Executives from ExxonMobil, Dow, Audi, Microsoft, and Intel Share Thoughts on Cybersecurity for Digital Transformation
Executives from ExxonMobil, Dow, Audi, Microsoft, and Intel Share Thoughts on Cybersecurity for Digital Transformation

June 8, 2020

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At the 24th Annual ARC Industry Forum in Orlando, Florida, an executive roundtable panel discussion followed the two keynote addresses on the digital transformation of industry.   In part 1 of this multi-part ARC Insight, our panelists addressed questions related to breaking down organizational silos and IT/OT convergence.  In part 2, they shared their perspectives on what the plants and factories of the future will look like, the emerging technologies and approaches that will make this possible, and how to achieve worker buy-in for the new technologies.  Here, in part 3, we’ll share some of their perspectives on the critical issue of maintaining effective industrial cybersecurity in the age of digital transformation.

Cybersecurity for Digital Transformation

Participating in the panel from the technology users’ side were Billy Bardin, Global Operations Technology Director at Dow;  Don  Bartusiak, Chief Engineer of Process Control at ExxonMobil Research and Engineering; and Dr. Henning Löser, head of the Audi Production Lab.  From the technology supplier side, were Christine Boles, VP of the IoT Group at Intel; and John Kovac, Director of Microsoft’s Manufacturing business unit.  ARC’s Andy Chatha moderated the panel discussion.

Balancing Digital Innovation with Cyber Risk

Michelle Balderson from Fortinet, a global cybersecurity company, raised a question about how, “looking into the future state,” companies will secure all the innovative change being discussed at the Forum.  It was pretty clear that this, the proverbial “elephant in the room,” was on the minds of many other Forum participants, as well.  Specifically, Ms. Balderson asked the panelists: “How do you balance risk with innovation within your organizations?”

Henning Löser from Audi took the first shot at responding to this.  “In the past, for automation – programming and networking PLCs and such – we were thinking that cybersecurity would be okay if we just built up a big enough firewall around our factory sites.”  But, over time, it became apparent that this is not enough.  “So, what we need to do is take steps to deploy technologies that will actually let us monitor the risks.”

“Reprinted with permission, original blog was posted here”. You may also visit here for more such insights on the digital transformation of industry.

About ARC Advisory Group (www.arcweb.com): Founded in 1986, ARC Advisory Group is a Boston based leading technology research and advisory firm for industry and infrastructure.

For further information or to provide feedback on this article, please contact lkanickaraj@arcweb.com

About the Author:

Paul Miller

Paul joined ARC in 2008 following a stint as Contributing Editor for Putman Media’s CONTROL and INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING magazines. Prior to Putman Media, Paul served as global Public Relations Manager for Invensys Process Systems and, before that, The Foxboro Company. Paul has followed the gradual emergence of industry interoperability standards, the transition from analog-to-digital field instrumentation, the breaking down of the barriers between plant and enterprise systems, and the ramifications of it all to end users and vendors alike.


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