Cyberattacks are now part of any company's daily business worldwide and they continue to rise in number. They range from factory espionage to the introduction of malware. The damage caused by such attacks on the economy is in the billion range. The most important step towards protecting against such attacks is the deliberate investigation into possible risks. And this requires intensive training using the latest didactic methods. To see it work, visit the VDMA Technology Lounge in hall 5 / J38, where the VDMA presents ideas and solutions for tomorrow’s machines in cooperation with partners from industry, science and research.
A decisive factor for the success of Industry 4.0 is a reliable, and above all permanent, secure operation of the worldwide networked machines and systems. The German word “Sicherheit” has two meanings, safety and security – these, however, are not the same but pursue entirely different objectives. Whereas safety describes the functional safety to protect people from potential hazards from the operation of machines and equipment, industrial Security, on the other hand, focuses on the protection of the information technology of industrial production plants, machinery and systems from attacks by cyber criminals. Security thus has to be integrated right into the design as such and must be an integral part of projects over their entire life cycle. A key step towards greater security is to sensitize and train employees in IT security.
Together with the Munich start-up "University4Industry (U4I)", the Mechanical Engineering Industry Assicoation (VDMA) has begun a cooperation in the area of digital advanced training for industry 4.0. In doing so, U4I took over the implementation of the VDMA Guideline Industry 4.0 Security in video-based learning units for online tuition. The focus is on practical knowledge as well as actual examples from industry and business with the goal of closing existing skills gaps. Instead of acquiring general knowledge, the students are to acquire specific knowledge through specific applications for their individual needs. Each participant can decide for themselves which tuition modules are currently of interest to them and then include them in a play list. The focus is on topics such as risk analysis, network segmentation, safeguarding of wireless technologies, monitoring and attack detection, safe remote maintenance as well as the design of safe product lifecycles and much more.
Interested visitors will be able to find out about these and other innovations as well as practical research results from the partner companies at the VDMA booth in Hall 5 / J38.