Evolution of OT security through modular plant concepts

Changing markets, increasing threats to OT systems, and expanding regulatory requirements are influencing the conditions for the secure operation of process plants. At the same time, the assessment of security aspects for modular plants has been largely left unattended. Therefore, in this first part of the article, we will analyze the general  requirements for implementing security measures in modular plants. In the second part of the article, we first evaluate the suitability of various reference architectures.
Using selected use cases, we derive both intra-modular and plant-wide requirements that relate to an exemplary object of consideration (in accordance with VDI/VDE 2182) within a modular process plant. Our aim is to establish the basis for a reference architecture for secure modular plants.