Photo by Keith Larson
Matt Fordenwalt, senior vice president, lifecycle services, Rockwell Automation
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Asset awareness first step in cybersecure operations

Nov. 21, 2024
Through its Verve acquisition and partnerships with Claroty and Fortinet, Rockwell Automation brings a full suite of OT cybersecurity capabilities to bear

“Cybersecurity protection is not optional,” warned Matt Fordenwalt during his keynote presentation at Automation Fair this week in Anaheim, Calif. “The convergence of IT and OT (operational technology) networks increases risk,” added the senior vice president, lifecycle services, Rockwell Automation. “Many of us don’t even know all of the assets we have in our plants.”

But Rockwell brings a thoughtful approach of how best to apply IT security to OT, continued Fordenwalt. “We don’t make security products; we make products that are secure. We believe in systems-level thinking that also includes domain expertise.”

To help consumer-goods manufacturer Church & Dwight determine how to avoid network disruptions, Rockwell’s cybersecurity team hosted training sessions at their facilities to enable better threat intelligence. “This was possible only because of our decades of experience in industry,” said Fordenwalt. “The result of this project was visibility across all sites with insights into the entire environment.”

Many enterprises have a huge volume of assets that were built capital project by capital project, noted Fordenwalt. Accounting for the points of vulnerability requires a systems-level approach and a shift toward simplification. “By applying IT security to OT, we’re developing tools that simplify security management,” he said. “We also acquired Verve last year to interrogate all connected assets across the plant floor. When you combine the Verve platform with our partnerships with Fortinet and Claroty, you have a complete set of security tools.”

“Facilities grow and evolve over time, and very few of us have pristine architectures,” explained Fordenwalt. “How do we securely bring systems of various vintages together?”

Kalypso, the digital consulting group acquired by Rockwell Automation in 2020, helps manufacturers navigate these complexities. “They’re also industry and domain experts,” added Fordenwalt. “Michelin partnered with us to build algorithms to improve the tire value chain. Under the algorithms are a robust data chain. This is unleashing enormous latent value in the data they have.”

Enterprise-wide connectivity and visibility provide huge opportunities, concluded Fordenwalt. “By establishing a secure, enterprise-wide data foundation, we’re working to make operations more productive and resilient,” he said. “We’re working to simplify the user experience across the entire lifecycle.”