The Future of Passwords in Operational Technology: Is the password really dead?

Modern civilisation exists within a digital framework, whereby human activity is inherently supported by digital technology. Many activities that were traditionally carried out offline are increasing being automated and digitised. Banking, shopping, communicating and entertaining all have digital elements in the lives of citizens of most western nations. This trend is true even within the world of manufacturing. The air-gapped factory no longer exists in modern industrial environments as manufacturing is evolving with the digital evolution. Interconnectedness prevails for the modern supply chain and data drives the execution of most processes in the industrial sectors. With this increase in digitalisation, manufacturing systems become more exposed to security risks, and with increasing frequency, we hear about cybersecurity issues affecting industrial control systems in the media. However, factories have unique environmental factors that impact the selection of security measures,...Show moreModern civilisation exists within a digital framework, whereby human activity is inherently supported by digital technology. Many activities that were traditionally carried out offline are increasing being automated and digitised. Banking, shopping, communicating and entertaining all have digital elements in the lives of citizens of most western nations. This trend is true even within the world of manufacturing. The air-gapped factory no longer exists in modern industrial environments as manufacturing is evolving with the digital evolution. Interconnectedness prevails for the modern supply chain and data drives the execution of most processes in the industrial sectors. With this increase in digitalisation, manufacturing systems become more exposed to security risks, and with increasing frequency, we hear about cybersecurity issues affecting industrial control systems in the media. However, factories have unique environmental factors that impact the selection of security measures, with many factors impeding the implementation of standard IT solutions. This thesis investigates the current authentication solutions used in manufacturing today, and determines the requirements and best practises needed to solve the authentication needs of the increasing exposed smart factory of the future.Show less

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The Future of Passwords in Operational Technology: Is the password really dead?