The Importance Of Remote Management In Industrial IoT

In a scenario where most people are working from home, the remote access and management of devices and systems is crucial. But beware of the security risks

2020 will be remembered as the year where a microscopic organism called COVID-19 put the whole world against the wall. An extremely contagious virus is forcing governments across the globe to take exceptional measures such as closing shops and other businesses, or forbidding their own citizens to move freely outside.

In a situation such as the one we are currently facing with the risk of a virus spreading and collapsing our healthcare systems, companies should be able to send their workers home. However, the lack of tools in the industrial sector so that workers can remotely access, monitor, and maintain their assets and infrastructure is preventing many companies from proceeding in that sense.

Of course companies producing physical products (cars, hardware pieces, appliances…) will suffer a bigger impact as there is part of the job that needs manual intervention that can’t be done remotely. But even in those companies there are many tasks and activities that actually should not require physical access to the factory. Why not reduce the human presence as much as possible so that the really necessary people in those factories can effectively do their job in a safer environment? For instance, everything related with the monitoring of assets, the maintenance of machinery or data gathering can be done using IoT platforms. By digitizing these activities through industrial IoT systems, companies are able to perform them not only remotely but also much more efficiently

It’s in this kind of situation where the power of Industrial IoT truly reveals as a necessary component of every company.

However, there is one thing, an extremely important one, that has to be taken into account: cybersecurity.

A situation where most people are working from home and where offices and factories are accessible via the Internet us the perfect setup for a cybercriminal. The main risks of the remote work is the exposure companies have to cyberattacks. What’s more, in a scenario where that situation is global, citizens are much more dependent on the basic services supply, and cybercriminals know that. An attack on power plants on a situation like the current one is simply fatal.

This is why security must be taken seriously. In addition to all sorts of traditional security measures, the exposure of data, devices and systems to the Internet must be carefully done, especially in the industrial sector. You are as secure as your weakest link in the chain, and that link is typically what is closest to the physical world: the devices. Companies digitizing processes and data must use secure solutions to protect themselves and their employees.

It consists of a secure-by-design Operating System for Industrial IoT gateways and a remote device management panel to control them. With those tools, companies can monitor their industrial devices (such as PLCs, inverters, smart meters…) and gather data from them remotely and minimizing the security risks

The arrival of the new COVID-19 is challenging the whole society, the way we interact, the way we work. Now is the perfect time to learn from this, make companies much more efficient and build a stronger foundation of the Industry 4.0. Next time we will be prepared.

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