Siemens Moves to Secure Industry 4.0

Whether we like it or not, manufacturing is becoming increasingly digitized and connected. Industry increasingly connects production machinery with Internet of Things (IoT) devices, gathers multiple real-time sensor information into large datasets and harnesses machine learning to make data driven decisions. The advantages of this 4th industrial revolution are expected to generate huge increases in profits over the next few years. However, these developments are not without risk.I’m not going to discuss the existential risk of drifting into dependence on a system so complex that only machine intelligence can make any sense of it. Cyber security presents much more immediate risks. Industry 4.0 brings the possibility of both terrorists and state actors gaining the ability to remotely shut down and sabotage critical infrastructure and military assets.