We have developed the Effigy (Fire & Gas Detector Mapping) and Vertigo (SIS Lifecycle Management) software tools in Kenexis Instrumented Safeguard Suite to support language switching through your browser. While we still have work to do to translate the help files, the application is already translated into Chinese and Portuguese. This is done through the [...]
It appears the US is going to blame Iran (ink to the New York Times article) for the cyber attack on the NY dam.
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA (03 March 2016) –The International Society of Automation (ISA) announced today that Kenexis, an independent engineering consulting firm providing technical safety and industrial cybersecurity services, is an ISA Promotional Partner. Through the partnership, Kenexis and ISA will work together to share Kenexis’ capabilities and technical knowledge with ISA members and customers. [...]
Attached is a presentation on how to analyze hazardous process situations for cybersecurity risks during a HAZOP or an interim review. We would be pleased to assist you in facilitating this type of review with a HAZOP expert and an Industrial Control System Cybersecurity expert. https://youtu.be/DcOAycWNgIE
This month, Kenexis met with various entities in China to discuss upcoming challenges in functional safety. This is an ongoing effort to work with the Chinese in their efforts to build safe work environments in the chemical and oil and gas industries. While there, Ed Marszal (president) presented at the China University of Petroleum as a guest [...]
Join Kenexis at the 2015 ISA Houston Section Expo & Chili Cook Off next month on Thursday November 12, 2015 form 5-9pm. Come by and visit us! RSVP
Please join us for the ISA Houston Section Monthly Meeting on Wednesday November 4, 2015 from 11am-1pm HESS Club 5430 Westheimer Rd. Houston, Texas 77056 Process Industry Accidents – Lessons Learned the Hard Way and How to Avoid Them Using a collection of videos, photographs and stories, this presentation will cover lessons learned from a [...]
Kenexis will be presenting several papers at this conference on process safety and industrial cyber security. Come meet us at our booth, or let me know ahead of time and we will setup an opportunity to talk. Seven ISA Divisions are Teaming up in November 2015 2015 Process Control and Safety Symposium-Sponsored by Process Measurement [...]
SPRING-BASED CYBERSECURITY for SCADA, PLC, and all other Industrial Control Systems in Process Plants & Manufacturing The Problem We have become very comfortable using advanced controller technology and in some cases, we are not thinking through the potential problems the technology might cause. Just this week, a news story [1] surfaced where white-hat hackers (good guys) were [...]
We are pleased to announce that our book is being published by the ISA and is available for pre-order now. Performance-based Fire and Gas Systems Engineering Handbook By Austin Bryan, Elizabeth Smith, and Kevin Mitchell Copyright 2016 ISBN: 978-1-941546-45-1 Length: 186 Pages Format: Softbound Book Publisher - International Society of Automation - See more [...]
ISO 9001 Registration Certificate in Lobby of Kenexis Headquarters Kenexis, a company dedicated to providing independent engineering consulting services to ensure the integrity of instrumented safeguards and industrial networks, has been successful in gaining ISO 9001:2008 accreditation after an audit of the company’s business practices by Performance Review Institute. ISO (International Organization for [...]
I was plowing through email late last evening and I almost clicked on this link. Lesson to me; stop plowing through email after 10pm. I tell everyone who will listen, to be very careful when you are tempted to click on a link in an email. It is so easy, and not all of the [...]
Using the ANSI/ISA-62443 Standards to Secure Your Industrial Control System (IC32), 30 April - 01 May 2015 Bryan Singer will be teaching this class at the UAB Engineering Complex in Birmingham, AL. The early bird discount is good until 02 April 2015. Seats are limited. See the attached brochure for more information. Cybersecurity -BHAM-Section-IC32- flyer[3].pdf [...]
With the articles that surfaced recently about the post office snapping pictures of faces and license plates as people drove onto their lot, I decided to tell my own recent experience. I was at a conference, when I noticed a near field antenna hanging in the ceiling. It registered in my subconscious, but I did not [...]
Industrial Control Network Cost Millions I never considered spending a million dollars directly on an industrial control system network, but I was wrong. I changed my view after we had a network incident that caused a production outage. My production personnel knew exactly the demands of their service level agreement. I knew they would do [...]
NEW ICS Blue Team Training Course, April We are pleased to offer a new ICS Blue Team Training, April 28th and 29th. This 2-day course is being offered for the first time to our customers. We will be teaching the hands-on course, Practical ICS Security Training, on how to defend an industrial control system from [...]
Kenexis presented the keynote speech at the S4x15 conference last week. During our presentation, we detailed the many ways in which a process or process equipment, such as a distillation column is designed to protect the operators, itself, and the environment. We believe that all systems that can potentially cause harm of any sort, should [...]
Listening to the cyber security drumbeat, I often hear mention of red and blue team exercises. As an ex-military guy, I like this because it reminds me of military scenarios like when our submarine was... Oops, I cannot actually tell that story. Anyway, the red team attacks and the blue team defends. I was wondering [...]
Whether discussing plant safety, process improvement, or cybersecurity, one truth is always present: You cannot improve on that which you cannot see, understand, and learn to control. Many operators today when considering industrial cybersecurity still see the world as someone or some group launches an attack from the Internet, it starts at 8:01 in [...]
In today’s cyber security threat environment, we should consider adding cyber security considerations to our hazards analysis. Process Hazards Analysis (PHA) or Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) studies of processes seek to identify malfunctions that might harm the people, process, or the environment. Quantitative and Qualitative Risk Analysis (QRA) is used to evaluate the actual risk [...]
In this month’s copy of InTech magazine (an ISA publication), there is an article by one of our senior investigators, Jim Gilsinn. At Kenexis, Jim is involved in ICS network vulnerability assessments; performance and reliability assessments as well as ICS network design and training. Jim also co-chairs the ISA62443 (ISA99) committee. The article can be [...]
It surprises us how often we see operators that are conditioned to wait for a display or historian data to update or fill in the stale or missing data. This is actually a common cyber security threat, where the ability of the operator is degraded either by supplanting what the operator can see or removing [...]
I recently received a question from an operating company engineer. He was asked to confirm that the safety instrumented systems were suitable for increasing the test interval up to seven years from a current figure of five years. Even though he believed that the calculations would show that the increased test interval was acceptable, he [...]
