Safety meets Security: instructions for machine manufacturers

(With reference to ISO/TR22100-4:2018, ISO12100 and Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC)

At the beginning of 2019, ISO, International Organization for Standardization, the international organization for industrial sector regulations, issued an ISO/TR Technical Report document called "ISO/TR 22100-4:2018, Safety of Machinery – Relationship with ISO 12100 – Part 4: Guidance to machinery manufacturers for consideration of related IT-security (cyber security) aspects".

In practice it is a new safety standard (which at this point concerns both Safety and Security) for machinery, plants and industrial Industrial of Things (IIoT) used in every sector from industry, to commerce, to transport and logistics , up to infrastructure and utilities. The document was discussed and developed by the Technical Committee on Standardization of ISO/TC199.

For the first time, ISO intended to put pen to paper that IT security does not apply only to data, and also concerns Safety, i.e. everything real that comes into contact with the virtual world, therefore including industrial machinery.

For the safety of an "intelligent" machine, "intelligent" technologies are required. Smart devices are exposed to the threat of accidents and cyberattacks, and not just the Internet of Things (IoT) in general, but seemingly isolated systems as well.

Information security for machinery safety

The ISO/TR 22100-4:2018 technical report gives us a classification of regulations and standards and a fundamental basis that the machinery manufacturer should adhere to. In the current discussion on new technologies to be used for digitization in production plants, also in view of Industry 4.0, the assessment for the effects that incidents and attacks on cyber security can have on the safety of machinery and plants plays a special role.

In order to make the subject objective, the ISO/TC199 committee for the "Safety of machinery" has decided to complete the work by releasing this ISO/TR22100-4:2018 a total complement, also referred to in the title, of the ISO12100 standard. The aim is to provide the machinery manufacturer with practical and preparatory assistance for placing the machinery on the market and delivering it to the end user (similar to what is contained in the Directive).