March 24, 2020—The International Society of Automation (ISA) and the ISA Global Cybersecurity Alliance have released a guide to consensus-based automation cybersecurity standards. “Quick Start Guide: An Overview of the ISA/IEC 62443 Series of Standards,” now available for download at isa.org/cyberguide , provides a view of the objectives and benefits of these standards—as well as explainers on how to navigate them. The guide explores how and why IT and OT/ICS need unique types of protection against cyber threats and offers recommendations on patch management. This guide answers some of the most common questions about the ISA/IEC 62443 Standards, including:
- Why is this series of standards important?
- How are IT and ICS systems different?
- Which documents are part of the series and how can I use them to find what I need?
- Where can I find the current best practices around patch management?
What are the benefits of using the standards?
The ISA Global Cybersecurity Alliance’s Advocacy and Adoption work group coordinated the development of the guide, which was authored by Johan Nye. Nye is an independent consultant specializing in industrial control systems and cybersecurity. During his career spanning more than 38 years, Nye has designed ICS system architectures, created company standards and policies, implemented major ICS projects, supported ICS site engineers, and contributed to the design of several ICS products.
