(32c) Securing Automated Safeguards from Cyberattacks

Many various safeguards are required to mitigate the potential risks in process plants. These safeguards commonly include mechanical devices such as pressure relief valves as well as automated safeguards such as basic process control system interlocks, alarms, and safety instrumented functions. In a safety risk assessment these safeguards are considered to function independently, but in a cybersecurity incident, multiple of these layers can be compromised in a single attack. This paper will provide insight into several common points of failures attackers can use to initiate the common cause failure of control and safety functions including bypasses of safety critical components from operator workstations, shared engineering workstations or common laptops used for configuring both safety and control devices, and shared accounts for control and safety access credentials. Guidance will be provided on best practices for securing safety critical systems from cybersecurity attacks, and how the steps necessary to maintain the independence of automated safeguards from cybersecurity methods, can be incorporated into ongoing process safety activities.