The ZIUR cybersecurity laboratory implements a solution for industrial robots
Cybersecurity in industrial robotics will become a new challenge for companies
The Gipuzkoa Industrial Cybersecurity Center, ZIUR, has expanded the services offered by its laboratory with the aim of strengthening the position of Gipuzkoan companies in terms of cybersecurity for industrial robots. The new facility is now available so that both user companies and manufacturers of cybersecurity solutions can analyze their situation and needs in a secure environment.
The development of 'Industry 4.0' is driving the development of robotics as a fundamental tool to automate processes and control them remotely. In this context, industrial robotics is playing an increasingly relevant role in an environment in which on-demand manufacturing is imposed.
The CEO of ZIUR, Koldo Peciña, acknowledges that “this sector is still in its infancy and is constantly growing; It is expected that in the coming years it will undergo a great boost and become one of the most important challenges for companies. Launching initiatives like this will allow ZIUR to help industrial companies in Gipuzkoa to improve cybersecurity in their robotics”.
Change of trend
Many Basque companies have robotic cell environments, essential in serial manufacturing processes. However, from ZIUR a change in trend is observed towards a more connected industry in which "collaboration" between workers and robots prevails. Companies are beginning to introduce collaborative robotic solutions in which robots facilitate work in a manufacturing environment certain.
Since the beginning of robotics, manufacturers have focused their efforts on improving the capabilities of their developments and including the latest technologies, making robots faster, more efficient and interoperable. This evolution, according to Peciña, "has caused priority to be given to the functionalities of the robots and an aspect as important as cybersecurity has been left in the background."
Risky situation
The latest generations of robots are designed to have much more autonomy than traditional robots. Advances in hardware and artificial intelligence allow robots to have more and more freedom of movement in unstructured environments, including public spaces. Many of them are designed to connect to the Internet. This interconnectivity makes the robots totally exposed and can be very insecure, causing really critical situations.
The analyzes carried out by ZIUR reveal that vulnerability in robots is an increasingly common problem, mainly due to the characteristics of industry 4.0. In this context, cyber attacks are becoming more common and more specialized. Cybercriminals develop more innovative techniques that make them a more dangerous threat and allow them to increase the efficiency of attacks.
For this reason, ZIUR considers that helping highly automated Gipuzkoan industrial companies to improve the cybersecurity of their automation systems is key to their competitiveness. With this solution, ZIUR adds this component to its service offering to bring companies closer to the importance of securing their robots and the consequences of a possible cyber attack.