The use of robots in industrial environments has greatly changed the conditions in which various tasks are carried out in recent decades. They help increase productivity while at the same time performing tasks in environments that would be dangerous for a human. But do they also increase the risk of cyberattacks?
Changes in the industrial environment
Cost reductions and common programming platforms are helping to accelerate the spread of general-purpose robots across all sectors. They are an integral part of Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). And it looks like this trend will continue.
Security concerns, however, lie in the robots’ connectivity capabilities. Business owners can use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to tailor the robots’ behavior to their advantage. The better a robot is integrated into a network, the more efficiently it can be deployed and reconfigured as needed.
When it comes to the use of robots, great attention is paid to safety, in order to protect the people who work in the same space as them. Unfortunately, however, not enough attention is paid to internet security when it comes to these machines.
One of the reasons the price of industrial robots has fallen is common development platforms. The ROS operating system, for example, is used in robots found in all sectors.
ROS was first introduced in 2007, and the latest version, ROS2, has been built with security in mind. The challenge is that ROS2 is still very new and has not yet been widely deployed. ROS1, on the other hand, was not designed with security in mind and uses many outdated protocols and tools for remote access and control.
The attack surface for an industrial robot is broad. As with many technologies, the firmware for embedded components is often not updated to protect against known vulnerabilities, while documented weaknesses in communication protocols or the underlying network are also not addressed.
Alternatives to ROS are even more difficult to compare, since they are often based on code developed for productivity and speed to market rather than cybersecurity.
The increased risks posed by autonomous production
So far, there have been no known cyberattacks against industrial robots. However, as costs decrease and the number of robots in use increases, they are becoming a more tempting target for hackers.
However, security concerns should not slow down the development of industrial use of robots. Like any other product or technology, there are known and proven processes that can help improve cybersecurity. Risk mitigation is about planning: security should be a key consideration from the early stages of design and continue through every stage of the development process to ensure a secure end product.
Buyers should have clear security requirements for the machines they choose. Testing should be conducted to ensure that robots and systems are properly secured against attacks before they are integrated into production environments, and that personnel are properly trained to understand the risks associated with their behavior.
At the same time, vendors should adopt “secure development lifecycle” best practices and ensure they provide end users with secure products.
