Why Consider Cybersecurity when Designing an Electrical Architecture

The demands of modern IoT applications increase the complexity of systems' infrastructure and put additional pressure on IT and OT security. As the frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks increase, operations must leverage industry standards to achieve consistent protection.

The challenges posed by operational technology are burgeoning regulations for cybersecurity, common protocols being increasingly exploited, the explosion of connected products and growing numbers of attack surfaces. Because of this, operational technology security has three main priorities – availability, integrity, and confidentiality.

Firstly, operational systems in large buildings and critical facilities in particular require high availability of the applications or processes they support as a top priority. While availability of power is of utmost importance, ensuring high data integrity upon which decisions are made is also essential in the digital age. Finally, confidentiality of data that could be used to determine trade secrets based on operational data is the third leg of the OT security triad.

See our white paper for more backgroud information: Understanding cybersecurity for IoT-enabled electrical distribution systems