Companies announce collaboration to advance cybersecurity for power management technologies

Eaton is collaborating with UL to advance cybersecurity for power management technologies across industries, which is intended to establish measurable cybersecurity criteria for network-connected power management products and systems.

By Eaton Corporation February 13, 2018

Eaton announced it is collaborating with global safety science organization UL to advance cybersecurity for power management technologies across industries. The collaboration is helping to establish measurable cybersecurity criteria for network-connected power management products and systems. In addition, Eaton’s cybersecurity research and testing facility in Pittsburgh is the first lab approved to participate in UL’s Data Acceptance Program for cybersecurity. The program, which is in development and available on a limited basis, aligns Eaton’s testing methodologies and data generation with the UL Cybersecurity Assurance Program for UL Standards 2900-1 and UL 2900-2-2.

Eaton’s cybersecurity research and testing facility in Pittsburgh now has the capability to test their products with intelligence or embedded logic to key aspects of the UL 2900-1 and 2900-2-2 Standards. Through this environment and Eaton’s rigorous cybersecurity process, Eaton is developing a growing portfolio of products to meet stringent specifications, regulations and consumer expectations for safe and secure power management.

Cybersecurity is one of manufacturing’s most critical risk factors and the number of security incidents in this sector was nearly 40 percent higher than the average across all industries. While manufacturers continue to innovate and build safer and more secure technologies, assessing risk is critical as cyber-attacks become more complex and difficult to guard against.

"A connected world needs trusted environments, and as we introduce more and smarter technology that enables us to link more elements of everyday life, trust becomes increasingly important," said Michael Regelski, senior vice president and chief technology officer for Eaton’s electrical business. 

UL’s Cybersecurity Assurance Program allows industry organizations are working together to establish foundational requirements for testing of network-connectable industrial control systems to enable protection against vulnerabilities and security risk controls.

"We seek to help manufacturers, their customers and other stakeholders mitigate security risks through science-based assessment and evaluation," said Ben Miller, president of the commercial and industrial business unit of UL. "Our collaboration with experts at Eaton is providing some of the crucial inputs to developing the technical expertise for new standards, and it’s helping advance UL’s efforts to protect our world’s critical infrastructure against ever-increasing cybersecurity threats."

Eaton Corporation

www.eaton.com 

UL

www.ul.com 

– Edited from an Eaton press release by CFE Media. See more Control Engineering cybersecurity stories.