Wibu-Systems Blog

The 2022 study on product piracy led by VDMA delves into the perpetrators, the types of attacks, and the counteractions.

A new essay that extends the trustworthiness concept to the actual operation of industry IoT systems.

Strengthening Trust, Safeguarding Digital Transformation, a must-read report on cybersecurity just released by BSA.

No CodeMeter dongle shortage in Karlsruhe, now or in the foreseeable future, despite the global supply chain crisis.

There can be no digital sovereignty without security, but what is the correct approach to building that security?

The perceived benefits of smart devices, systems, and entire factories are gaining momentum in the Industrial IoT world.

The IIoT Trustworthiness Framework Foundations doc explains key concepts and benefits of trustworthiness in industry.

As any downtime in smart factory processes translates into financial loss, data networks play a central role.

Pros, cons, and key considerations for integrating a licensing system into a Greenfield software development.

With the digitalization of industry and the networking of the IoT, the opportunities for cyber-attacks increase exponentially.

Brownfield development approaches: Pros, cons, and key insights for license management integration.

IT security has finally found its niche in the rundown of the global coolest Internet of Things companies of this year.

A collection of bold predictions from market analysts and industry experts on the next "big thing" in the IT/OT convergence process.

A host of public frameworks and best practices is available to guide secure development efforts of digital transformation projects.

Data and network security threats to ICS have severe consequences for nation-states and supply chains.

In their latest white paper, the IIC has captured the many challenges and technological hurdles that accompany the DX journey.

Technology is inherently empowering. Should then access to technology be controlled and who is controlling the controllers?

Medium-long term trends that will be impacted by COVID-19 across technology, business, operations, investment, and macroeconomics.

A powerful license management system is the key to stay competitive in the global market and fully monetize software.

Product piracy has reached an all-time high of 74% among German companies in the mechanical and plant engineering industry.

Exploring four key security areas to harden the shopfloor and run an efficient and profitable Industry 4.0 operation.

What does it take to achieve trustworthy software that produces predictable business and operational outcomes in the IIoT?

The use of 3D printing technology and the move to outsourcing are creating an environment for unintended consequences.

During the COVID-19 crisis, our Business Continuity Plan is mitigating threats to public health and maintaining business ops.

IoT devices have long passed through the early adopter phase, but have security measures kept up the pace?

How to mitigate risks and take the necessary steps to securely and regularly perform updates that reduce cyberthreats.

2020: the pivotal year for ubiquitous connectivity and digitalization and for 20 bn. exploitable points of entry.

The rise of digital twins increases the number of software vulnerabilities, risk of IP theft, and exposure of critical processes.

Encouraging manufacturers to ensure they ship their devices in a secure state is the key objective of the UK government.

Nearly 80% of industry professionals regard the growing interconnectedness of OT and IT as a cybersecurity challenge.

AI, IoT, and predictive analytics are transforming the healthcare sector and shifting the focus from products to services.

In its latest publication, the NIST addresses the many cybersecurity risks inherent in IoT device manufacturing.

What are the challenges, risks, and benefits of AI as it enhances efficiency, reliability, and effectiveness of IIoT processes?

Only the enhancement of Industry 4.0 cybersecurity will lay a solid foundation for future security technology developments.

A novel license-based protection solution that far surpasses the password authentication still typical of modern PACs..

Preventing embedded systems vulnerabilities related to physical access, lack of monitoring, and software updates.

A critical shift in focus onto digital security solutions is required for the expanding digital footprint of the healthcare landscape.

Digitalization places high demands on security technology and leads to far-reaching changes in production facilities.

The U.S. Congress introduced legislation to address the cybersecurity concerns related to IoT devices.

The actors behind the SecUnity Cybersecurity Roadmap agree that effective security and privacy measures require a systematic and holistic approach.

What are the collateral damages of a severe cyberattack for economy, healthcare system, water supply, electricity or transportation?

The IoT Security Standards Gap Analysis from ENISA maps existing IoT standards against requirements on security and privacy.

It is time to create a separate engineering discipline designed to cover the specific CPS and IoT knowledge.

The Trustworthy System Status Model helps designers plan a system that proactively prevent damaged, disastrous or permanently lost system status.

Trustworthiness is the degree of confidence that the IIoT system performs as expected in terms of safety, security, privacy, reliability, and resilience.

The report by RUSI showed that nearly half of the manufacturers and companies do not have the right tools to estimate potential cyber risk.

Endpoints are ubiquitous across the IIoT landscape and the 2018 SANS IIoT Survey reveals that IIoT endpoint security is the leading concern.

The Dynamic Monetization model proposes to move the payment for industrial systems from upfront to the time of usage with revolutionary consequences.

With national elections soon coming up in the U.S., the mere thought of further interference with the democratic process is raising deep concerns.

Embedded software engineers of the future will have a very different skillset from their predecessors - Where does the software security skillset fit?

VDMA Product Piracy Study 2018 indicates that, while the overall scale of damage remains unchanged, damages have worsened in the last two years.

When choosing the right system software for medical devices, secure communications, multi-CdPU design, modularity and scalability are key.

Product liability in the cyberworld opens up a whole new area of litigation, as the ISV becomes also responsible of software exploitation for malicious intent.

Only 3% of the executives surveyed expressed that they were not challenged by the adoption of  new technologies inherent with the IoT.

We support BSA US 2018 Policy Agenda in developing international consensus on cybersecurity best practices and leveraging innovative solutions.

The best integrity protection solutions are based on cryptography and the associated use of digital signatures and authentication.

Do we all share a common understanding of IIoT terms? Most likely not, and that’s why the IIC continues to update its IIoT Vocabulary Report.

Will this legislation remedy the market failure that has occurred and encourage device manufacturers to compete on the security of their IoT products?

Under the cloud of increasing cybersecurity threats, it is clear that a security by design approach is a necessity for any embedded system.

“The system should not require secrecy and it must not be a problem if it falls into enemy hands.”

The Smart Factory is driven by real-time interactions of people, machines, assets, systems, and things that collectively enable self-governed processes.

Much has been written lately about IIoT endpoints and their many potential security vulnerabilities.

The push for some form of liability for vendors who sell faulty or insecure software has been the subject of debate for many years with little or no clear agreement on its legality or how to enforce it.

The US FDA recently published new recommendations for both manufacturers and regulators to address medical device cybersecurity.

With just a few shopping days left before Christmas, the retail frenzy is at its height.

Industrie 4.0, a.k.a. the fourth industrial revolution, is representative of the global strategic initiative to revolutionize industry by integrating digital automation, interoperability and advanced data exchange into manufacturing technologies.

An attack to an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) system typically starts with an attack on one or more endpoints.

The vulnerability of Internet-enabled endpoints in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is a critical security concern.

The tone of the many well-meaning discussions about the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) varies widely from one viewpoint of unbridled optimism about the seemingly endless possibilities to another filled with apocalyptic doom and gloom about the safety of the planet and everyone on it.

The more that is written about the Internet of Things and its myriad of potential game changing applications, it seems that the terms “IIoT” and “disruption” become more closely aligned. 

More than 81% of organizations believe successful adoption of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is critical to their future success, yet ironically, only 25% of these organizations have a clear IIoT strategy in place and only 24% of those organizations are happy with its execution.

The Trusted Computing Group (TCG) is a not-for-profit organization formed to develop, define and promote open, vendor-neutral, global industry standards, supportive of a hardware- based root of trusted computing platforms.

It was difficult to avoid the barrage of headlines coming out of the last week’s annual RSA Conference, the purported largest annual gathering of security professionals in the world.

When I recently watched a report about Tofaş, with its impressive one-million square meter operation and its leading position in the Fiat-Chrysler world in terms of World Class Manufacturing (WCM), I seriously wondered what else Smart Factories could offer in the near future. 

This past summer, the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) published an interesting document entitled, Architect’s Guide: IoT Security.

Security and the IoT are terms becoming intrinsically linked in the grand discussion of connected devices and their envisioned applications in virtually every aspect of our ecosystem, whether it be consumer wearables, medical devices, or industrial systems.

The close of a year and the anticipation of what’s to come in the New Year always brings about some interesting reviews of the past 12 months and predictions for the future by industry analysts, company executives and the trade press.

There were some interesting findings released in a global study this past June conducted by Harbor Research (in conjunction with Progress Software) on the State of IoT: 2015 Global Developer Study.

Endpoint Security for a rail system: another Industrial internet system success story.

The Industrial Internet Consortium held an interesting TweetChat last week in preparation for their Security event held on Tuesday, November 4 in NYC.

The SD Association recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of the microSD™ Card.

Whether it be Stuxnet or an iPhone virus, it is people who are the cause for trouble.

The Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions paints an interesting picture of the healthcare and life science sectors in their report, Healthcare and Life Sciences Predictions 2020 – a bold future?

It has been several years since Kevin Ashton introduced the concept of the Internet of Things, based on RFID and sensor technology that enable computers to observe, identify and understand the world—without the limitations of human-entered data.

The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) recently released the first version of a document entitled "Industrial Internet Reference Architecture Technical Report".

Aside from the widespread attention and hype surrounding the prolific growth expectations of the Internet of Things (IoT), industry focus has been on potential (IoT) device vulnerabilities and cybersecurity.

A recent report released by the Economist Intelligence Unit entitled Long-term Macroeconomic Forecasts: Key trends to 2050 highlighted some of the emerging economic issues expected to shape global business in the coming decades.

Attackers — in ever greater numbers and with increasing sophistication — see, in the growing promise of our tech-connected world, opportunities to steal or cause major disruption or destruction by exploiting vulnerabilities.

Software for embedded systems is based more and more on open system platforms – Linux Embedded, VxWorks, Windows Embedded, QNX and many others.

I recently read an interesting article in Engineering and Technology Magazine, entitled ‘Immature’ Internet of Things Hackable with Primitive Methods.

Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney acknowledged that he once feared that terrorists could use the electrical device that had been implanted near his heart to kill him and had his doctor disable its wireless function.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission recently released an in-depth report entitled, The Internet of Things: Privacy & Security in a Connected World, which included a long list of considerations and recommendations on how manufacturers should secure IoT devices.

Software for embedded systems is based more and more on open system platforms, such as Linux Embedded, VxWorks, Windows Embedded, QNX and many others.

In their book, Embedded Systems Security, David and Michael Kleidermacher point out some all-to-real scenarios about the consequences of malicious threats to embedded systems.

We talk a lot about copy protection in this space but what I want to focus on today is what is meant by the phrase "secure software licensing."

There are plenty of reasons to use a software protection dongle even when you're running an embedded system.

Hackers are out there. So you can't take for granted--now or ever--that it won't happen to you.