Ten years ago, buying a glossy magazine and reading it was a self-indulgent treat that I allowed myself from time to time. Today, with a much lower per magazine cost, I read a wide variety of magazines on my iPad. In particular, I have gone back to National Geographic. Its digital cost is affordable, its photos and videos are spectacular, and I don’t have to make agonizing decisions about storing or recycling a great-looking document.

The adoption of new technologies in  electrical substations has improved communications, but it has also made these networks more vulnerable to cyber threats. In the past, electrical substations were designed to be safe, easy to use and reliable. Security wasn’t a concern. As the substations have become more complex in their design, cyber security became a priority.

VFD cables are used to connect Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) to motors and, when specified correctly, they play a large role in mitigating harmful electrical noise. This noise can disrupt production and lead to downtime or quality control  issues, which can be a major drawback to VFDs that otherwise have a quick payback.

If you are more comfortable programming PLCs than implementing cyber security measures this series of blogs is for you. Its goal is to give you an overview of the security functions built into network devices so you can implement the ones that are appropriate for your application.

Earlier this year I published our first article on the Smart Factory of the Future. It described a vision of manufacturing where systems are more intelligent,  flexible and dynamic.  In the future  machinery and equipment will have the ability to improve processes through self-optimization and autonomous decision-making. This is in contrast to running fixed program operations, as is the case today.