IIC Journal of Innovation 12th Edition | Page 118

Cybersecurity Considerations for Digital Twin Implementations manage attack risks against digital twins effectively. which are increasingly implementing connectivity into their infrastructure and supply chains, it is crucial to have a cybersecurity strategy in place to protect critical software and data. The hack resistant properties that software protection offers can provide an important defense-in-depth component to the overall security solution. Even further, with a modular approach, software protection techniques can be added in over time, minimizing single- release impact and ensuring that the security “bar” is continually being reset and advanced against the hacker. Software protection techniques ensure that your software is not the target of an attack and enables digital twins to operate in higher-risk edge environments where they can operate closer to the real system they are monitoring. To ensure they implement these stages effectively, industrial and manufacturing organizations must understand the scope of their current risk, ask hard cybersecurity-centric questions to vendors and work with trusted advisors to safely embrace connectivity in their manufacturing process. Understanding and planning for software protection threats associated with digital twins will help ensure you transform the business risks of perimeter security into a more extensive defense-in-depth security strategy which targets cybercriminals where it hurts them most: by breaking their business models and leaving you to reap the benefits of your digital twin innovation. Securing the Future While these steps are specifically targeted at securing systems from the ground up, it is not too late for industrial and manufacturing organizations to implement good software lifecycle management, design, test and software protection to secure their existing software and systems. For organizations  Return to the beginning of this article  Return to the Table of Contents The views expressed in the IIC Journal of Innovation are the contributing authors’ views and do not necessarily represent the views of their respective employers nor those of the Industrial Internet Consortium. © 2019 The Industrial Internet Consortium logo is a registered trademark of Object Management Group®. Other logos, products and company names referenced in this publication are property of their respective companies. IIC Journal of Innovation - 113 -