Breaking Down the Silos

A great deal of cybersecurity attention, and rightfully so, is paid to the role of defending against and responding to outside attackers. However, just as important to establishing and reinforcing cyber plans is ensuring that internal vulnerabilities are not created or made easier to detect through systems, networks and new technologies that are introduced to the industrial infrastructure, albeit with the best of intentions.However, the influx of handheld devices and mobile computing power can lead to the unintentional injection of numerous cybersecurity issues. One only needs to look at the history of the Stuxnet virus for proof of how something as simple as a USB stick can lead to massive and often irreparable damage. To help lend some insight on such potential security issues is Todd Greenwald. He serves as the president of Heartland – a McHenry, Illinois-based company that works with the industrial sector to improve business operations through technology integration, process implementation and network redesign. Heartland’s specialties include wireless infrastructure, network security, mobile computing, automated data collection systems, and more. For more information on the work Heartland does, you can go to www.heartland-usa.com. To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast. And if you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at jeff@ien.com.To download our latest report on industrial cybersecurity, The Industrial Sector’s New Battlefield, click here.