- Sensor detects irregularities in connected industrial installations
- Deutsche Telekom shows prototypes at Hannover Messe
A wide variety of connected components, applications and systems, coupled with remote maintenance – that's the promise of the fourth industrial revolution (I4.0). While this has a huge impact on the economy and efficiency of a production chain, it also opens up a host of new potential targets for cybercriminals. At Hannover Messe, the world's largest industrial fair, Deutsche Telekom is presenting the new prototype of a monitoring system that detects and reports such disruptions and manipulation in real time.
"For us, thinking about solutions like this new prototype represents the core of our digital responsibility. With this monitoring system, we are creating a digital alarm system for highly critical applications and processes," says Ferri Abolhassan, Managing Director of the T-Systems IT Division and Telekom Security. He adds that "the new prototype is a classic 'plug and play' solution: plug it in, switch it on and the digital watchdog is on the prowl. It's security made easy."
The prototype, named "SCADA Security," is based on analyses of a wide range of data. At Hannover Messe, Deutsche Telekom uses wind turbine controls as an example of how it works: in the first step, data generated directly by the facility is encrypted and its integrity is checked. In addition, the digital watchdog compares patterns of conventional machinery behavior with its current behavior. For the wind turbines presented in Hannover, for example, the watchdog checks whether the actual rotation of the turbines matches the power currently being generated, or whether the rotation speed matches the measured wind force.
Last but not least, the SCADA Security analysis is based on a comparison between actual machine behavior and general predictions. For the wind turbine, for example, the system queries whether the rotation speed of the rotors correlates to the predicted wind force.
SCADA Security detects disruptions due to technical defects as well as manipulation of the hardware and software. As soon as the system detects anomalies, it triggers an alert signal and sends a warning via e-mail to a predefined group of recipients. This guarantees that technicians can implement countermeasures quickly in case of irregularities.
The prototype solution has been developed by T-Labs in collaboration with Ben Gurion University in Israel.
About Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom is one of the world’s leading integrated telecommunications companies with more than 156 million mobile customers, 29 million fixed-network lines and around 18 million broadband lines (as of December 31, 2015). The Group provides fixed-network/broadband, mobile communications, Internet, and Internet-based TV products and services for consumers, and ICT solutions for business customers and corporate customers. Deutsche Telekom is present in more than 50 countries and has around 225,200 employees worldwide. The Group generated revenues of EUR 69.2 billion in the 2015 financial year – around 64 percent of it outside Germany.
About T-Systems
As one of the leading global ICT service providers, T-Systems supplies integrated solutions for business customers. These solutions are based on global offerings in fixed-network and mobile communications, highly secure data centers, a unique cloud infrastructure built around standardized platforms and global partnerships, and top security in line with Germany's strict data protection regulations in response to customer demand. With a footprint in more than 20 countries, 46,000 employees, and external revenue of 7.1 billion euros (2015), T-Systems is your ideal partner in digital transformation. Alongside traditional ICT services, T-Systems' portfolio also offers cloud access, custom infrastructure, and platforms and software from the cloud, as well as innovative projects in promising new business areas such as big data, the Internet of Things, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, and Industry 4.0.