Vacon and F-Secure to join forces for industrial automation security research
23 November 2010
Drives manufacturer Vacon and global computer security provider F-Secure have teamed up to pursue computer security research in industrial automation applications. The companies decided to co-operate following the widely publicised Stuxnet malware reports of recent months. Although the Stuxnet malware does not directly infect Vacon's ac drives, the company regards this incident as a very important lesson for the whole industry to learn.
F-Secure, a global antivirus company and leader in providing software as a service through operators, has analysed the threat posed by Stuxnet in detail. "Stuxnet proves that factory automation systems can and will be targeted by malware. I'm afraid we will see more attacks like this," says Mikko Hyppönen, the company's chief research officer.
Vacon and F-Secure want to raise the industry's awareness and understanding of issues affecting industrial automation processes and data communication so that it can be prepared for such risks in the future.
"Stuxnet was an eye-opener for the whole industry. Our customers are of course asking us and other industrial automation key players about how they should react to the threat," says vacon executive vice president, Heikki Hiltunen. "In partnership with F-Secure we aim to keep our customers up-to-date on this and other issues also in the future. As the world's largest company that focuses solely on ac drives, we want to be the leader in data security in our industry."
In another development Vacon has signed a supplier contract with KONE Corporation valued at several million euros annually. The new supplier contract between Vacon and KONE covers new energy-efficient ac drives that have been designed in close cooperation.
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