PLC Security Assurance: Chip-Level Security Hardening and Building Hardware Trust Roots!

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

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With the advent of the Industry 4.0 era, PLC security has become a top priority in industrial control systems. Are you also pondering:

– How can PLC systems withstand increasingly severe cyber attacks?

– What exactly is a hardware trust root? Why is it so important?

– How should chip-level security hardening be implemented?

– What are the differences in security solutions among mainstream PLC brands?

⚠️ Industry Pain Points

1. 1. Traditional PLC security measures are limited to the software level, making them vulnerable to hacking and intrusion.

1. 2. Lack of hardware-level trust foundations leads to fundamental vulnerabilities in the security architecture.

1. 3. It is challenging to balance security measures with production efficiency

🎯 Key Points of This Article

1. 1. Specific implementation steps for chip-level security hardening solutions

1. 2. Methods and key technologies for building hardware trust roots

1. 3. Comparison of security features among mainstream PLC brands and selection recommendations

▎ Step 1: Building Chip-Level Security Foundations

Chip-level security is the cornerstone of PLC security protection and must be considered from thehardware design phase.

📋 Key Operations:

• Implementsecure boot processes to ensure the integrity of the Boot ROM.

• Configurehardware encryption engines to support encryption algorithms such as AES256.

• Establishsecure key storage areas to achieve physical tamper resistance.

💡 Expert Tip: It is recommended to useTPM (Trusted Platform Module) chips, which provide independent cryptographic operations and key storage capabilities.

▎ Step 2: Implementing Hardware Trust Roots

Hardware trust roots are the foundation for ensuring the entire system’s trustworthiness, requiring the establishment of a complete trust chain.

📋 Key Operations:

• Implementsecure boot chain verification mechanisms.

• Configureunique hardware identifiers to ensure device identity cannot be forged.

• Establishkey derivation systems to enable secure communication.

▎ Step 3: Runtime Security Protection

Ensure the security of PLC during operation to prevent malicious code injection and data tampering.

📋 Key Operations:

• EnableMemory Protection Unit (MPU) mechanisms.

• Implementcode signing verification

• Configuresecure isolation areas

⚠️ Note:Runtime protection mechanisms may slightly impact system performance, requiring a balance between security and efficiency..

📊 Practical Application

A chemical plant implemented a PLC security hardening project, successfully blocking multiple cyber attack attempts by deployingTPM 2.0 chips andsecure boot mechanisms, reducing the incidence of security events by 95%.

❓ Troubleshooting

Q1: How can the security of firmware updates be ensured?

A1: Ensure the authenticity and integrity of firmware throughdigital signature verification andversion rollback protection mechanisms.

Q2: What to do if the hardware trust root is compromised?

A2: Initiateemergency response mechanisms to rebuild the security environment using backup trust roots.

💻 Brand Compatibility Key Points

• Siemens: Offers a comprehensiveTIA Portal Security Suite, supporting hardware encryption modules.

• Rockwell: AdoptsFactoryTalk Security architecture, supporting multi-layer security protection.

• Mitsubishi: Achieves hardware-level security protection throughSecurityKey modules.

📝 Summary

1. 1. Chip-level security is the foundation of PLC security and must be laid out from the hardware level.

1. 2. Building hardware trust roots requires support from a complete trust chain.

1. 3. Security measures must be balanced with actual production needs to ensure system availability.