Showing posts with label Industrial Wireless Networks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Industrial Wireless Networks. Show all posts

Essential Protection: Analynk Enclosures for Industrial Hazardous Zones

Essential Protection: Analynk Enclosures for Industrial Hazardous Zones

Industrial facilities with hazardous areas cannot afford to take chances with their wireless networks. Operating wireless equipment in environments filled with flammable gases, vapors, or dust without appropriate safeguards is not just negligent—it's a recipe for disaster. The risk of explosions caused by improper equipment is too great to ignore.

Analynk hazardous area access point enclosures are not optional; they are essential. These enclosures are specifically designed to prevent wireless devices from becoming ignition sources. Certified to meet stringent safety standards like ATEX and IECEx, they are unequivocally suitable for Zone 1 and Zone 2 hazardous areas.

Ignoring the necessity of proper enclosures jeopardizes not only equipment but also the safety of personnel and the continuity of operations. Analynk's enclosures ensure that critical wireless connectivity for monitoring, control, and data acquisition remains uncompromised by hazardous conditions. They protect devices from extreme temperatures, moisture, and corrosive substances, ensuring longevity and reliable performance.

Industrial facilities with hazardous areas need to use Analynk hazardous area access point enclosures. Anything less is unacceptable and exposes your operation to unnecessary risks. These enclosures are imperative for compliance with safety regulations, protection of assets, and the assurance of uninterrupted, safe wireless communication vital for today's industrial demands.

Analynk Wireless
(614) 755-5091
https://analynk.com

Analynk: Leading the Way in Hazardous Area Enclosures for Top Wireless Brands

Analynk, LLC: Leading the Way in Hazardous Area Enclosures for Top Wireless Brands

In the world of industrial wireless communication, safety and reliability are paramount. Analynk, LLC has emerged as the premier manufacturer of hazardous area enclosures, specifically designed for wireless access points from some of the most renowned brands in the industry, including Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, Aruba, Meraki, Aerohive, Fortinet, and Motorola.

A Commitment to Safety and Compatibility


Analynk's expertise lies in creating robust enclosures that ensure the safe operation of wireless access points in environments where standard enclosures are unsuitable. This is particularly crucial in industries with high risk of explosive atmospheres or other hazardous conditions, such as in chemical plants, oil and gas facilities, and other similar settings.

What sets Analynk apart is their meticulous attention to compatibility. Their enclosures house and protect wireless access points from leading brands like Cisco and Hewlett-Packard, ensuring that these devices can operate safely even in the most challenging environments. This focus on compatibility extends to other top brands like Aruba, Meraki, Aerohive, Fortinet, and Motorola, making Analynk a a preferred solution for industrial organizations looking for reliable wireless communication in hazardous areas.

Innovative Design and Quality Assurance


Analynk's enclosures are more than just protective cases; they result from innovative engineering that considers the unique needs of hazardous environments. Each enclosure prevents dust and moisture ingress while maintaining the optimal operating conditions for the wireless access points and includes considerations for temperature control, connectivity, and ease of maintenance.

Quality assurance is another cornerstone of Analynk's approach. Every enclosure undergoes rigorous testing to ensure it meets the highest safety standards for hazardous area equipment. This commitment to quality and safety has earned Analynk a reputation as the trusted manufacturer of choice for industrial organizations worldwide.

A Responsive and Customer-Centric Approach


Understanding that each industrial setup has unique challenges, Analynk offers a customer-centric approach. They work closely with clients to understand their needs and provide customized solutions that fit perfectly within their operational framework. This level of responsiveness and flexibility makes Analynk stand out in the market.

Future-Proofing Industrial Wireless Communication


As wireless technology continues to evolve, Analynk is committed to staying ahead of the curve. Their R&D team continuously works on improving and innovating their product line to accommodate the latest advancements in wireless technology. This forward-thinking approach ensures that clients investing in Analynk's enclosures are future-proofing their industrial wireless communication needs.

In an era where industrial wireless communication is becoming increasingly complex and essential, Analynk, LLC stands out as a beacon of reliability and innovation. Their specialized hazardous area enclosures for top brands like Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, Aruba, Meraki, Aerohive, Fortinet, and Motorola are not just products but essential components that ensure safety, reliability, and efficiency in challenging industrial environments. As the premier manufacturer in this niche, Analynk continues to set the standard for quality and innovation in industrial wireless communication.

Access Points in Industrial Settings

Access Points in Industrial Settings: Bridging Performance and Compatibility

An access point (AP) is a device that allows wireless devices to connect to a wired network using Wi-Fi. It interfaces between wireless clients and the wired LAN (Local Area Network). Access points are essentially the wireless equivalent of an Ethernet hub or switch, granting multiple devices access to the network.

In industry and manufacturing facilities, an access point (AP) provides wireless connectivity to a wired network, enabling seamless communication across large areas. These APs handle a high density of devices, withstand harsh environmental conditions, and offer enhanced security features. They support mobile workers, integrate wireless industrial equipment, facilitate real-time data collection and monitoring, and ensure safety through connected sensors and alarms. The strategic placement of APs provides consistent network coverage, allowing for efficient and uninterrupted operations in the facility.

The rapid evolution of technology in industrial settings has necessitated a corresponding advancement in network infrastructure. Wireless access points are at the heart of this transformation, which have become pivotal in ensuring high-performance connectivity and backward compatibility with legacy systems. Industrial facilities often house diverse equipment, ranging from older machines with limited connectivity options to state-of-the-art devices with advanced wireless capabilities. This mix presents a unique challenge: providing a network that caters to the needs of both old and new devices without compromising on speed, reliability, or security.

Dual-band access points have emerged as the solution to this problem. By operating on both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands, they offer the flexibility of supporting older devices that may only recognize the 2.4 GHz band while still providing the faster and less congested 5 GHz band for newer, more capable devices. This dual-band capability ensures that industrial settings don't have to choose between performance and compatibility; they can achieve both. Moreover, with the increasing reliance on real-time data analytics, cloud-based applications, and remote monitoring in modern industry, the role of access points in delivering consistent and high-speed connectivity has never been more crucial. Their ability to bridge the gap between the old and the new ensures that industries can transition into the future without leaving the past behind.

Analynk Wireless specializes in producing enclosures for wireless access points suited for hazardous environments. Their enclosures come with certified components, inclusive of antennas, mountings, entry points, cables, and energy sources. Their diverse product range is compatible with numerous wireless access point brands, such as Aruba/HP, Cisco, Meraki, Meru, Motorola, and Symbol.

Analynk Wireless
(614) 755-5091
https://analynk.com

Hazardous Area Antennas

Hazardous Area Antennas

Hazardous area antennas are specialized types of antennas designed for use in environments with a risk of explosion or fire. These environments, known as hazardous areas, are typically found in industrial manufacturing facilities such as oil refineries, chemical plants, and mines.

Hazardous area antennas transmit wireless signals in these environments, allowing for the remote control and monitoring of equipment and machinery. These transmissions are essential for the safe and efficient operation of industrial manufacturing facilities, as it allows for the monitoring of critical systems and the ability to shut down equipment in the event of an emergency.

Several types of hazardous area antennae are available, including omnidirectional, directional, and panel antennas. Omnidirectional antennas emit a signal in all directions, while directional antennas emit a signal in a specific direction. Panel antennas provide long-range communication.

The most common hazardous area antenna used in industrial manufacturing facilities is the explosion-proof antenna. The construction of these antennas includes materials that can withstand the high temperatures and pressures that can occur in an explosion. They also have a flameproof design that prevents fire from spreading in the event of ignition.

Another hazardous area antenna commonly used in industrial manufacturing facilities is the intrinsically safe antenna. These antennas operate at a level that is below the ignition threshold of flammable gases or dust, which eliminates the risk of explosion or fire.

In addition to these types of hazardous area antennae, wireless mesh networks operate in these environments. These networks allow a wireless network that connects multiple devices and systems, providing real-time monitoring and control of equipment and machinery.

Overall, hazardous area antennae are essential for industrial manufacturing facilities' safe and efficient operation. They allow for the remote control and monitoring of equipment and machinery, which is crucial in preventing accidents and ensuring the safe operation of these facilities.

Analynk Wireless
(614) 755-5091


Comprehensive Listing of Hazardous Area Enclosures for Commercially Available Wireless Access Points

Listing of Hazardous Area Enclosures

Markets such as pharmaceutical, chemical, petrochemical, water treatment, refinery, oil platform, storage depot, and mining applications benefit from wireless network implementation. The robust feature set of commercial access points provides significant benefits but typically lacks the construction and approvals for hazardous environments. Specially designed instrument enclosures accommodate these access points and allow these feature-rich, widely available products in hazardous industrial areas. 

Analynk manufactures hazardous area access point enclosures designed for these access points. The enclosures are rated Class I, Division 1, and 2 locations, Groups A, B, C, & D and ATEX Zone 1 and 2 areas. 

The following is a listing of commonly used wireless access points and matching access point enclosures, with links to the specification sheets.


Analynk Wireless
(614) 755-5091

Industrial Wireless Networking Considerations

Industrial Wireless Networking Considerations

Implementation of complex monitoring and control processes by industrial automation systems in the chemical industries, power plants, oil refineries, and water delivery systems are typical. The industrial networks for process automation at these sites typically encompass broad areas, with highly dense networks with hundreds or thousands of nodes. 

The harsh industrial environment presents several obstacles for wireless communications, the most significant of which are dependability, fault-tolerance, and low latency. Unpredictable changes in temperature, humidity, vibrations, and pressure and the presence of highly reflective (metal) items and electromagnetic noise make industrial surroundings stressful.

In these installations, thousands of devices provide measured values (such as temperature, pressure, flow, and location) to actuators that control processes and servers that coordinate the manufacturing steps. Wiring is often tricky and expensive, particularly in combustible and explosive areas (for example, in the presence of flammable gases in an oil refinery.) Remote or inaccessible places are difficult to reach, and mobile nodes can only be connected intermittently.  Even though the amount of data is relatively low in an industrial application, dependability and latency are crucial, and complete data delivery in real-time is a must. 

Key constraints that hinder the actual deployment of wireless networks in such settings are battery capacity and device power consumption. Communication and power wires, ideally, can be eliminated to provide a completely wireless system. To that end, the devices should be energy efficient and capable of running for years on a single charge from a battery. Furthermore, wireless networks bring logical benefits to maintenance and commissioning, such as "plug-and-play" automation systems to reduce downtime and speed up tests, as well as "hot-swapping" malfunctioning modules.

IIoT Developments and Security Concerns

IIoT Developments and Security Concerns

Upward of 27 billion devices connect as part of the massive confluence of technologies, networks, protocols, standards, and devices known as the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT is a network of computers and devices that capture and exchange vast volumes of data, which is then sent to a cloud-based service, aggregated with other data, and then exchanged with end-users to provide valuable insights. IoT is growing automation in homes, classrooms, shops, and several other industries and industries. 

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) leverages many of the same technologies like IoT and applies them to the industrial world's diverse needs. IIoT is a category of technologies that capture and distribute data inside historically isolated industrial devices, contained in Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems and other Industrial Control Systems (ICS). They track and control essential industrial infrastructure, including factories, power plants, water systems, ports, other industrial installations, and some U.S.

Sensitive industrial infrastructure owners and operators are rapidly implementing IIoT technologies to maximize the development and distribution of goods and services, increase performance, improve safety and minimize costs. IIoT sensors and devices provide real-time monitoring and control to operators.  They also collect data on system output, further improving plant performance or production performance. For example, smart tools used on a production line could allow a company to monitor and evaluate its production process. Real-time production data could provide insight into plant conditions, discover additional plant capability, and predictive analytics can help detect corrosion within the refinery pipe.

These threats to modules, firmware and software, wireless networking, and most devices must include mitigation at the computer and system engineering level. The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the European Union Agency for Cyber Security (ENISA) seek to guide the government and industry with some of their voluntary attempts to describe IIoT cybersecurity. Industry is collaborating with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and other manufacturers to establish reasonable safety capabilities in IIoT products to avoid burdensome regulations that are likely to quickly get out of date as the IIoT industry is vast and changing much faster compared to government legislation. 

Key Concerns

  • Critical infrastructure owners and operators are rapidly adopting the IIoT to boost performance and maximize productivity, but this technology also brings increased cyber and other vulnerabilities. 
  • The increased adoption of the IIoT, historically unsafe and isolated legacy systems come with new connected devices against a background of diverse yet growing safety standards for components, creates further possibilities for system access and eventual critical infrastructure access to the computer network by several malicious cyber players. 
  • The rise in publicly and commercially accessible cyber resources makes it easier for more players to access vulnerable IIoT components. These devices are contained in critical infrastructure, allowing them to seek a range of effects that may not be detected, and present financial and possibly physical consequences.

Evaluation of the Technologies Potentially Suitable for IWSAN Solutions Covering an Entire Industrial Site With Limited Infrastructure Cost and Trade-Offs

Wireless Technologies

An excellent 2020 publication from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine on industrial wireless technologies:

IIoT and Wireless Connectivity

IIoT and Wireless Connectivity

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) refers to sensors, controllers, actuators, tools, and other devices interconnected with industrial computer applications, including manufacturing and energy management. This connectivity facilitates collecting, distributing, and reviewing data, potentially promoting productivity and quality improvements, and other economic benefits. The IIoT is an evolution of a distributed control system (DCS) that uses cloud computing to refine and optimize process controls, allowing for a greater degree of automation. 

In the manufacturing industries, the term industrial internet of things refers to the IoT industrial subset. Improved efficiency, analytics, and the workplace's transformation are future advantages of the industrial Internet of things. 

While connectivity and data acquisition is essential for IIoT, they are not the ultimate objectives but rather the basis and path to something larger. Predictive maintenance is an "easier" application of all technology related to current asset and management systems. Smart maintenance systems will minimize unnecessary downtime and improve efficiency, estimated to save up to 12 percent over planned repairs, reduce total maintenance costs by up to 30 percent, and eliminate breakdowns by up to 70 percent.

Wireless connections are increasingly used in IIoT deployments to boost industrial data services' operational communication, such as capturing vast process data, interacting with industrial robots, and monitoring machines/parts/products on and beyond the factory floor. 

Industrial users typically play a much more decisive and active role in deciding wireless services in their plants than personal customers in the wireless market. A collaboration between operational technology (OT) engineers, information technology (IT) device architects, and wireless network planners is inherently a wireless system architecture for IIoT applications.  The newly founded 5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation (5G-ACIA) has provided some inputs from industrial manufacturers in the form of white papers.  

There are no one-size-fits-all wireless solutions for industrial use cases as the service requirements, and operating environments may differ vastly from one another. Earlier industrial wireless networks provided connectivity in each single vertical manufacturing sector. As a result, the solutions that function well under the specific service requirements and operating conditions may only yield limited value in different use cases. Wireless success in more emerging IIoT applications will require wireless networks to facilitate the broader and deeper digital contact with industrial systems and provide flexible interfaces and quick deployments while keeping data integrity. 

For more information, contact Analynk Wireless.
(614) 755-5091

The Economic Argument of Using Hazardous Area Access Point Enclosures

 

Cost-effective argument for hazardous area enclosures

Many chemical, food processing, refining, mining, petrochemical, and pharmaceutical applications need high-performance Wi-Fi access in potentially explosive environments. Whether it's device telemetry, network access, site-to-site networking, or unified communications, these applications demand the highest Wi-Fi performance possible in the harshest environments. 

Some Wi-Fi access points are designed for direct use in explosive conditions without an external protective enclosure. Others are intended for use in non-explosive environments and controlled within a specialized housing specified for that use. The former approach is cost-effective when the underlying technology that drives the equipment is developed, reliable, and unlikely to need an upgrade for years; IoT velocity, positioning, pressure, and temperature sensors fall into that class. 

The latter solution – using an outer enclosure – is the most realistic as the underlying wireless technology is rapidly evolving. That's because an explosion-proof enclosure's purchase and installation costs can reflect 4 to 20 times the access point's price. Swapping the access point out, leaving the protective enclosure intact, is significantly less costly than installing a brand new enclosure for some technology upgrades. 

The Wi-Fi industry has changed from 802.11n to 802.11ac Wave 1 to 802.11ac Wave 2 in under ten years. Just as no consumer will purchase a new truck based on a 10-year-old design, nor will they consider installing technology-based 802.11n access points from 2007. They will at least use 802.11ac Wave 1, particularly in industrial environments, due to the outstanding multipath performance of 802.11ac in metal presence. 

Using standard amortization rates, a consumer wanting to keep up-to-date with the new Wi-Fi technology will upgrade equipment approximately once every four years. If we believe that an access point designed for harsh environments has a list price of $1,500, and with the related Class 1 Division 2 enclosure may list for $3,500. The installation alone (excluding the set-up and commissioning of access points) costs $2,500. In this scenario, buyers can save $4,500 for each access point technology switch when mounting in a hazardous area access point enclosure.

For more information about hazardous area wireless access point enclosures, contact Analynk by calling (614) 755-5091 or visit their website at https://analynk.com.

8 Major Application Considerations for Industrial Wireless Networks

Industrial Wireless Networks

The laws of physics limit wireless networks. These laws set the boundaries of how much information can be transmitted. Presented below are some key challenges of a wireless communication system.

1 - Wireless Range

The constraints on wireless radio wave transmission are the physical distance, obstacles, and fundamental wavelengths. Obstacles such as metal and concrete severely attenuate radio waves. Higher frequency systems generally have better throughput performance but with less range than systems operating in the lower frequency bands.

2 - Wireless Channel Bandwidth

Wireless communications systems transmit information over finite resources within the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. EM spectrum is a limited natural resource divided according to the laws and regulations.

3 - Information Data Rate (Bandwidth)

Bandwidth is defined in terms of bits per second and constrained by the communications channel's physics. Realizable bandwidth rarely meets the advertised data rates as channel conditions introduce error. Competition for the channel by other devices on the wireless network creates a delay in channel access.

4  - Latency

In any communication system, transmitting and receiving data takes time. A software program must provide data for transmission, format, modulate, and share it in a wireless device. The electromagnetic waves then take time to spread through space at the speed of light, ultimately arriving at the receiver. Additional time is then required to detect the signal, reconstruct the signal into valid information, and finally deliver it to the client software application. Latency is defined as the actualized duration of information transmission from one application to another within an industrial control system.

5 - Scalability

A wireless network is designed to support a certain number of devices. Scale is an essential factor of industrial wireless networks as it influences the amount of time expected for devices to utilize the finite resources of the wireless channel. Some wireless systems, such as WirelessHART employ scheduling to assure channel availability.

6 - Wireless Security

Security within any industrial wireless deployment, mainly those considered mission-critical, should always be considered in conjunction with the wireless network design and application goals. Security holistically addresses data confidentiality, integrity, and availability issues. Unlike a traditional office setting, data integrity and availability in industrial networks are more significant concerns. For most modern wireless networks, strong encryption is available and should be used inside the factory. To ensure wireless device authentication, authentication protocols should be used to verify access. Wireless networks are also vulnerable to transmission attacks, such as jamming. In mission-critical systems, wireless network isolation is recommended by frequency and distance.

7 - System Availability

The ability of a wireless network to support its intended operation is referred to as system availability. This is typically defined in terms of a percentage availability, such as 99.99%, for which it will stay operational. Attention should be placed on the robustness of devices within the network.

8 - Harsh Industrial Environments

The physical environment usually impacts wireless communications with the presence of obstructions, reflections, and scattering. Such effects lead to multipath transmissions that may not have a direct line-of-sight (LOS) element at times. Industrial environments are more electrically noisy than office and home environments and present far more wireless transmission obstructions and disturbances. Moveable metal items such as forklifts and cranes, narrow aisles between metal shelves, and liquid tanks that can alternate propagation features are examples of this harsh environment. Moreover, depending on the frequency of the produced noise, electrical noise may affect wireless transmissions. Motors and solenoids provide examples of low-frequency noise sources. Arc-generating equipment can make higher-frequency electrical noise.

For wireless transmitters, repeaters, transmitters, antennas, and hazardous area access point enclosures, contact Analynk Wireless by calling (614) 755-5091 or visiting their website at https://analynk.com.

New Article from NIST and IEEE on Wireless Network Design and IIoT

IIoT

A recently published article published by the IEEE and written by researchers at NIST titled "Wireless Network Design for Emerging IIoT Applications: Reference Framework and Use Cases" is available for reading and downloading at this US National Library of Medicine / National Institutes of Health / PMC site: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6760003/.

ABSTRACT

Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) applications, featured with data-centric innovations, are leveraging the observability, control, and analytics, as well as the safety of industrial operations. In IIoT deployments, wireless links are increasingly used in improving the operational connectivity for industrial data services, such as collecting massive process data, communicating with industrial robots, and tracking machines/parts/products on the factory floor and beyond. The wireless system design for IIoT applications is inherently a joint effort between operational technology (OT) engineers, information technology (IT) system architects, and wireless network planners. In this paper, we propose a new reference framework for the wireless system design in IIoT use cases. The framework presents a generic design process and identifies the key questions and tools of individual procedures. Specifically, we extract impact factors from distinct domains including industrial operations and environments, data service dynamics, and the IT infrastructure. We then map these factors into function clusters and discuss their respective impact on performance metrics and resource utilization strategies. Finally, discussions take place in four exemplary IIoT applications where we use the framework to identify the wireless network issues and deployment features in the continuous process monitoring, discrete system control, mobile applications, and spectrum harmonization, respectively. The goals of this work are twofold: 1) to assist OT engineers to better recognize wireless communication demands and challenges in their plants, 2) to help industrial IT specialists to come up with operative and efficient end-to-end wireless solutions to meet demanding needs in factory environments.


For information on wireless instrumentation, explosion proof antennas, and explosion proof enclosures, contact Analynk Wireless. Call them at (614) 755-5091 or visit https://analynk.com.

Hazardous Area Enclosures Facilitate Plant Standards for Wireless Access Points

Hazardous Area Enclosures for Access Point
Hazardous area enclosures for wireless access point.
(Analynk)
There are often conflicts between what is needed and what is desired in many technical endeavors, and the field of industrial process control is no exception. Such a conflict between process engineers and IT managers was created by the incursion and popularity of wireless communication into the field of process measurement and control. It is, of course, a cooperative and friendly conflict, but a condition which may require some incompatible interests to be resolved.

For a number of reasons, compliance with certain norms set for the organization's wider scope and standards is advantageous for the wireless network equipment. Standardization on specific brands or hardware types can have true advantages. The tasks associated with network infrastructure back end management are less complicated when all equipment belongs to the same producer and family of products. Provisioning, which includes initial set-up, long-term management and management of unit losses, is simplified when all units are identical. The same objective is pursued by process technicians and operators in standardizing specific transmitters, valves or other parts that have various facilities throughout a plant.

The problem occurs when the access point selected by the IT team, with all the latest standards, needs to be installed in a part of the plant categorized as hazardous (owing to the potential for flammable or explosive gases, vapors or dusts that can be ignited). There is a solution, actually a fairly simple one. Use a non-hazardous area access point (as specified or designated by the IT department) and installing it inside an access point enclosure designed for hazardous areas.

Analynk Wireless manufactures enclosures for industrial wireless access points installed in hazardous locations.  Each access point enclosure is provided with agency approved enclosures, antennas, mounting, penetrations, cabling, and power supplies. Their current product offering accommodates a wide range of wireless access point manufacturers including Symbol, Cisco, Meru, Aruba, HP, and Motorola.  Access point and Wi-Fi technology technologies change rapidly. Wireless component lifecycles are relatively short compared to other process equipment. The use of hazardous area access point enclosures provide flexibility and convenience in access point selection and upgrades.

For more information, contact Analynk Wireless by visiting https://analynk.com or by calling 614-755-5091.

Industrial Wireless Systems Radio Propagation Measurements

Radio frequency (RF) propagation measurements were conducted at three facilities representing a cross-section of different classes of industrial environments. Selected sites included a multi-acre transmission assembly factory typical of the automotive industry; a small-sized machine shop primarily engaged in metalworking located on the NIST campus in Gaithersburg; and a steam generation plant located on the NIST campus in Boulder. A spread spectrum correlation sounder was used to take the measurements at a continuum of points throughout the facility by fixing the transmitter and moving the receiver at a constant rate throughout each facility. The data collected from the RF propagation measurements of each site was analyzed. Analysis is based on channel impulse response (CIR) measurements collected during the measurement using equipment developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The results of the analysis include a tabulated summary and detailed exploration of various industry accepted channel metrics such as path loss, delay spread, and K factor. Interpretation of the measurements contributes to an improved understanding of radio frequency propagation in factories and an additional perspective on deploying wireless communication devices within factories.

This technical paper, provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), addresses concerns about the lack of industrial wireless networking reliability, determinism, and security through a multi-phased approach.


Analynk Wireless
(614) 755-5091
https://analynk.com

US Power Grids, Oil and Gas Industries, and Risk of Hacking

A report released in June, from the security firm Dragos, describes a worrisome development by a hacker group named, “Xenotime” and at least two dangerous oil and gas intrusions and ongoing reconnaissance on United States power grids.

Multiple ICS (Industrial Control Sectors) sectors now face the XENOTIME threat; this means individual verticals – such as oil and gas, manufacturing, or electric – cannot ignore threats to other ICS entities because they are not specifically targeted.


The Dragos researchers have termed this threat proliferation as the world’s most dangerous cyberthreat since an event in 2017 where Xenotime had caused a serious operational outage at a crucial site in the Middle East. 

The fact that concerns cybersecurity experts the most is that this hacking attack was a malware that chose to target the facility safety processes (SIS – safety instrumentation system).

For example, when temperatures in a reactor increase to an unsafe level, an SIS will automatically start a cooling process or immediately close a valve to prevent a safety accident. The SIS safety stems are both hardware and software that combine to protect facilities from life threatening accidents.

At this point, no one is sure who is behind Xenotime. Russia has been connected to one of the critical infrastructure attacks in the Ukraine.  That attack was viewed to be the first hacker related power grid outage.

This is a “Cause for Concern” post that was published by Dragos on June 14, 2019

“While none of the electric utility targeting events has resulted in a known, successful intrusion into victim organizations to date, the persistent attempts, and expansion in scope is cause for definite concern. XENOTIME has successfully compromised several oil and gas environments which demonstrates its ability to do so in other verticals. Specifically, XENOTIME remains one of only four threats (along with ELECTRUM, Sandworm, and the entities responsible for Stuxnet) to execute a deliberate disruptive or destructive attack.

XENOTIME is the only known entity to specifically target safety instrumented systems (SIS) for disruptive or destructive purposes. Electric utility environments are significantly different from oil and gas operations in several aspects, but electric operations still have safety and protection equipment that could be targeted with similar tradecraft. XENOTIME expressing consistent, direct interest in electric utility operations is a cause for deep concern given this adversary’s willingness to compromise process safety – and thus integrity – to fulfill its mission.

XENOTIME’s expansion to another industry vertical is emblematic of an increasingly hostile industrial threat landscape. Most observed XENOTIME activity focuses on initial information gathering and access operations necessary for follow-on ICS intrusion operations. As seen in long-running state-sponsored intrusions into US, UK, and other electric infrastructure, entities are increasingly interested in the fundamentals of ICS operations and displaying all the hallmarks associated with information and access acquisition necessary to conduct future attacks. While Dragos sees no evidence at this time indicating that XENOTIME (or any other activity group, such as ELECTRUM or ALLANITE) is capable of executing a prolonged disruptive or destructive event on electric utility operations, observed activity strongly signals adversary interest in meeting the prerequisites for doing so.”

Industrial Wireless Networks

Industrial wireless networks (IWNs) are a key enabler of many aspects of advanced manufacturing. IWNs promise lower installation costs compared with wired alternatives, increased operational flexibility, improved factory visibility, and enhanced mobility. Wireless networks are not dissimilar to wired networks with the key exception being the transmission medium. Wired networks typically operate over copper wires, coaxial cable, or fiber optic cable depending on the network type. Wireless networks operate without wires or cables using the electromagnetic propagation. As such, wireless networks operate within a shared medium that is publicly accessible. A listing of wireless technologies is listed below:

Home and Office
This includes standards-based communications system typically found in the office environment but may be useful for the factory. Includes IEEE 802.11 variants and Wi-Fi compliant devices. Bluetooth also falls into this category.

Instrumentation
Includes systems specifically designed for factory operation. IEEE 802.15.4 standards such as International Society of Automation (ISA) 100.11a, WirelessHART (IEC 62591:2016), IEC 62601, and ZigBee fall into this category. High-performance standards built on IEEE 802.11 include the Wireless Networks for Industrial Automation - Factory Automation (WIA-FA) IEC 62948. Many exceptional proprietary options exist as well.

Wide Area Sensing
Some applications require the ability to transmit over long distances with minimal power to conserve battery life for sensing and control over wide geographical distances. Examples include LoRaWAN and Sigfox as well as modes of 4G and 5G cellular radio standards.

Other commercial
This category includes systems such as satellite, cellular, directional microwave data links, optical (visible light), and land-mobile radio. This category includes technologies supporting video and voice communication.