When production becomes a point of entry

Why cyber security has long been a key issue for industrial weighing technology.

It is Monday morning, just after six. The production line starts up, the first batches are subjected to weighing, and data flows into the MES (Manufacturing Execution System). Suddenly, the plant comes to a standstill. No error message, no technical fault – instead, a blank screen, a ransom demand, production halted. What once sounded like an IT worst-case scenario is now a realistic scenario for many industrial production environments.

Cyberattacks have long since moved beyond traditional IT. With networked machines, remote maintenance, cloud connections and mobile devices, production facilities are increasingly coming under the spotlight. The consequences of a successful attack are severe: production downtime, data loss, manipulation of process parameters and damage to reputation. In regulated industries, legal consequences are also a factor.

Components that are deeply integrated into the process – controllers, sensors and communication interfaces are particularly affected. Not forgetting indeed: weighing systems.

How the risk profile has changed

Historically, production networks were largely isolated. The famous ‘air gap’ separated office IT from manufacturing. “This separation hardly exists anymore,” says Nils Hubrich, Product Manager at Minebea Intec, a leading global manufacturer of weighing and inspection technologies. “Modern Industry 4.0 architectures rely on end-to-end data flows – from the sensor to corporate IT or external services.”

This significantly increases the attack risk. The boundaries between IT (information technology) and OT (operational technology) are blurring, maintenance access is being implemented via the network, and standard protocols are finding their way into automation technology. At the same time, many industrial components were not originally designed for this form of networking. “Secure by Design” was not a primary development goal for a long time.

OT is not IT – why cyber security in production must be approached differently

Cybersecurity in industrial automation follows different rules to traditional IT security. Whilst confidentiality is often the top priority in office IT, availability and integrity are paramount in OT. Production systems must run 24/7; restarts or spontaneous patches are often not possible.

This distinctive feature is reflected in the IEC 62443 series. It is the central international standard for industrial network and system security and specifically addresses systems, machines and components in automation technology – from operators and machine builders to component manufacturers.

Legal framework: Cyber security becomes mandatory

In parallel with standardisation, governments worldwide are tightening regulatory requirements for the cybersecurity of networked products. The reason for this is the growing number of security incidents in which not entire infrastructures, but individual digital components have become the starting point for attacks. In increasingly networked production environments, such vulnerabilities can have a significant impact on plant availability, supply chains and economic stability.

As an example, the European Union has created a framework with the EU Cybersecurity Act that establishes ‘security by design’ and ‘security by default’ as fundamental principles. The Cyber Resilience Act, which builds on this, goes a step further and addresses products with digital elements directly. Manufacturers must ensure that their products have an appropriate level of cybersecurity – not only at the time of placing them on the market, but throughout the entire product lifecycle. This includes, amongst other things, secure development processes, a structured approach to vulnerabilities, and the provision of security updates for futureproofing.

“This development highlights a fundamental shift: cybersecurity is increasingly embedded into the product design itself rather than added as an external safeguard,” says Nils Hubrich. “It can no longer be addressed solely through organisational or operational measures but must be systematically embedded right from the development stage.”

Secure Development Lifecycle as a foundation

A key tool for this is the Secure Development Lifecycle in accordance with IEC 62443-4-1. It defines requirements for secure product development processes and focuses not on individual security functions, but on the entire lifecycle of a product. From risk analysis through to security by design and secure implementation to verification, updates to management and the structured handling of vulnerabilities, all phases are consistently considered.

This process-based approach is crucial for a sustainable cyber security strategy. Security is not achieved through a single feature, but through consistent decisions throughout the entire product lifecycle. Particularly against the backdrop of increasing regulatory requirements worldwide, the secure development lifecycle thus forms the foundation for robust, long-term secure industrial products.

Technical requirements for components: IEC 62443-4-2

At a technical level, IEC 62443-4-2 specifies the security requirements for industrial components. The so-called foundational requirements range from identification and authentication, through to system integrity and data confidentiality, and availability and incident response. Depending on the defined security level, the requirements increase – from basic measures to complex protection mechanisms against targeted attacks.

For embedded systems – which also include aspects such as secure interfaces, access control, integrity checks and secure communication are particularly relevant.

Focus on weighing technologies

Weighing systems have long since ceased to be passive measuring devices in the traditional sense. In modern production facilities, in addition to recording measured values, they also perform active functions in process control – for example, during batching, filling or quality-related release decisions. They form part of networked production lines, exchange data with controllers, control systems and higher-level IT systems, and have a direct impact on the flow of production processes.

Manipulated weighing data can be just as critical as altered control logic, as it can cause shortfalls, quality deviations or process disruptions. This leads to a clear conclusion: weighing and inspection systems must be regarded as fully-fledged OT components and secured in accordance with industrial cyber security requirements.

Example: MiNexx® weight indicators: Cyber security as an integral component

The MiNexx® weight indicators show how cyber security is embedded as a fundamental architectural principle in modern weighing systems from the outset. Weight indicators perform a central function: they capture the signals from connected load cells or weighing platforms, process these into weight values, and provide measurement and status information for higher-level systems. In doing so, they form the interface between physical measurement in the process and the digital automation and IT level.

As networked OT components, they are directly integrated into industrial data and control processes. They communicate with controllers, control systems or manufacturing execution systems and influence process-critical decisions, for example during batching, filling or checkweighing.

Weight indicators as safety-critical OT components

The architecture of the MiNexx® weight indicators is based on the fundamental principles of IEC 62443. All physical and logical interfaces are clearly defined and specifically secured to systematically reduce potential attacks. This is complemented by a role-based access concept, in which user groups are granted only the permissions necessary for their tasks. “The principle of least privilege reduces the risk of unauthorised or unintended interference with safety and process-critical functions,” says Nils Hubrich.

OPC UA, among other things, is used as a standardised communication interface for integration into networked production environments. The standard enables the cross-vendor exchange of structured process data between OT and IT systems and integrates security mechanisms such as certificate-based authentication, encrypted communication and controlled access rights directly into the connection.

Cyber security as an on-going task

What begins in the morning with a stationary production line is rarely the result of a single error. It is the consequence of a networked production environment in which every component is part of a larger digital structure. Whether a cyberattack leads to total failure or remains manageable is often decided deep within the system – where data is generated, processed and passed on.

Cyber security in industry is therefore not a static state, but a task that begins with every commissioning and never ends. Production equipment becomes an active component of the security architecture – not as a risk, but as a protective factor.

For weighing technologies, this means security is not an add-on. It is part of their function, and it plays a decisive role in ensuring that production continues reliably, even in an emergency.