CRADLE TO GRAVE
GROWING RISK OF
CYBERATTACKS
Notably, the company harnesses the significant capabilities
of its global principal, First Technology Group, which is
a provider of ICT technologies, including sophisticated
cybersecurity solutions, to companies operating in many
industrial sectors.
According to Frikkie Eloff, regional manager of First
Technology Group’s Limpopo and Mpumalanga
operations, the mining and minerals sector is
yet to develop a secure, vigilant and resilient
strategy to protect against the growing risk
of a catastrophic cyberattack.
Eloff says that top of the agenda is the need
to harmonise existing cybersecurity capacities
with operational divisions that are also both
continuously available and adequately equipped
with bespoke cutting-edge technical solutions.
“Bridging the divide between engineering and information and
communications technology (ICT) is a complex undertaking.
It entails having a sound understanding of both disciplines
and access to sophisticated sector-specific cybersecurity skills,
capabilities and experience,” Eloff says.
MANAGING DOWNTIME
Unplanned downtime in a critical environment such as a mine,
can result in a catastrophic event that impacts the safety of
workers and the environment on a massive scale. According
to Brendan Hall, sales manager Africa at Axis Communications,
production losses can spiral out of control and force the mine
to close operations. “A predictive maintenance strategy that
incorporates the latest technology becomes essential to
mitigate this from happening,” says Hall.
Unfortunately, many mines still rely on a traditional approach
that sees technicians being sent out at scheduled intervals to
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African Mining Publication
Its customers include top international mining
houses which continue to increase their
investment into cybersecurity.
According to the Global Information
Security Survey, more than 50% of the
large international mining companies had
elevated their spending on cybersecurity
during 2016 and 2017. This trend is expected
to continue as more industry participants
move into the interconnected digital era to boost
productivity and lower input costs.
Meanwhile, many South African mining houses have also
embarked on an automation drive to significantly bolster
health and safety levels, making them just as vulnerable as
their international counterparts to catastrophic attack.
physically assess and record critical asset findings. But given
the scale and complexity of mining operations, this represents
significant man hours and extensive costs. Inevitably, critical
assets will either be over- or under-maintained as they rarely
break-down on schedule.
“This is where a predictive maintenance strategy that includes
distributed online monitoring becomes important. With
advancements in automation, wireless technology, SCADA
(supervisory control and data acquisition) systems, and solar-
powered hardened devices, remote data collection from
permanent sensors provides much better insight on the status
of critical assets and helps keep operations flowing smoothly,”
says Hall.
African Mining
African Mining March 2020
47