Physical IT security in Industry 4.0

Physical IT security is more important than ever. With the digitalization of the production world through the Internet of Things, we are in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution. It is merging worlds that previously had little to do with each other: production facilities are highly networked, and systems communicate with each other independently. Proponents of Industry 4.0 are pushing for networked and more efficient production that simultaneously strengthens competitiveness in the market. On the other hand, increasing networking also increases the vulnerability of manufacturing companies to external attacks. Cybersecurity in Industry 4.0 goes hand in hand with the physical protection of the IT infrastructure. The upcoming fourth industrial revolution with its strong networking up to automation technology on the factory floor has an impact on the implementation of IT security. In particular, due to the increased communication of elements, even across company boundaries, the implementation of the protection goals of availability, confidentiality and authenticity as well as integrity is gaining particular importance. Therefore, physical security in IoT use cases and, of course, physical server security is more important than ever. But it doesn’t always have to be complicated.