Security first at VEGA

April 17, 2023 6:28 pm

World’s first-level sensor with integrated cyber security delivered to customers.
VEGA, the Black Forest manufacturer of level, switching and pressure instrumentation, is on a security mission. In January 2023, it delivered what is unquestionably the world’s first-level sensor with built-in cyber security features to its customers. With this new development, VEGA wants to send a strong message: it recognizes the increasing threat of cyber criminality in the industry and is taking action to combat it.
From the outside, you wouldn’t see anything different or unusual: The VEGAPULS 6X radar sensor, together with its documentation, fits perfectly into its tailor-made carton, which, at the end of the packaging line, gets its shipping label. Address: A chemical company in northern Hesse, Germany. But the customer receives something quite different from all the other level sensors previously available in the market. This sensor has cyber protection as an integral component for the first time ever. It was developed in compliance with Industrial Cyber Security Standard IEC 62443-4-2 and thus meets the highest standards currently implemented in the process industry.
Florian Burgert, who was involved in the conception of the universal level sensor from the beginning, says, “Being able to use secure measurement data at all times is now one of the most important requirements of our customers. We hear this from customers in almost every industrial sector.” For pervasive security, the production system as a whole must be secure, and all the built-in components as well. Everything must comply with the standards.
Especially in cyber security, plant operators want equipment they can depend on to stay one step ahead of the latest threats. And now, VEGA doesn’t want to rest on its laurels after developing one instrument compliant with IEC 62443. With its certification as a guide, the company plans to develop future products with all existing security requirements immediately. Protective measures will be consistently expanded to create a reliable basis for secure plant operation in the future.