Rijnland as first Dutch water board with cyber security certification

As the first water board in the Netherlands, Rijnland had several of its OT systems certified on compliance with the IEC 62443, the international standard for cyber security within Operational Technology. For Rijnland, this is a step towards making their water purification and water transport process automation more robust and digitally resilient.

Pieter van Dijk, team leader Process Automation at Rijnland: “Of course I am extremely proud that Rijnland passed the conformity test with IEC 62443.This would not have been possible without the efforts of the PA vitalization project team, employees of the Process Automation team and the collaboration with Hudson Cybertec.”

Security

We came to the conclusion that process automation is not an aid, but an asset that is indispensable in the control and operation of the primary process. In addition, it showed us the potential vulnerability of the way we used to work. Without a smoothl running process automation, the primary process will come to a standstill or the end product will fail to meet the quality requirements. Information security (cyber security) should offer a solution. At Rijnland, the team has been strengthened with an Information Security Process Automation Advisor in the person of Hans Smit, working in close cooperation with Hudson Cybertec. “Digitization has many advantages for us,” says Smit, “but we also realize that failure of digital means makes us vulnerable. Not only hardware failure, but also cyber risks are increasingly included in our policy. The BIO (Baseline Informatiebeveiliging Overheid/Baseline Information security Government) gives us guidance to take measures in the field of process automation. For our process automation, we have chosen to conform to the international standard for cybersecurity within operational technology, IEC 62443, because the BIO in its current form does not offer sufficient guidance for process automation”.

Hudson Cybertec

Rijnland has been assisted by Hudson Cybertec, both organizations have been working together for years to raise the cyber security of Rijnland to a higher level. As a cybersecurity specialist in the field of industrial automation, Hudson Cybertec has an excellent reputation as an international subject matter expert for IEC 62443. With this knowledge and experience, the organization has advised and guided Rijnland in the steps of the certification process with TÜV.

Marcel Jutte, Managing Director of Hudson Cybertec: “Establishing an adequate Cyber Security Management System (CSMS) is not only important at Rijnland, but for all organizations in the vital infrastructure. These organizations are, or will be, affected by the Wet Beveiliging Netwerk- en Informatiesystemen (Security Act Network and Information Systems), abbreviated Wbni. The certification of Rijnland is an important milestone for all involved and we are very pleased with the achieved result.”

TÜV Netherlands

In order to independently test OT system compliancy with the IEC 62443, Rijnland has asked TÜV Nederland to carry out the certification process. To this end, TÜV Netherlands conducted an audit at the end of February, which was aimed at assessing whether Rijnland complied with the requirements within IEC 62443 part 3-3 (Requirements for system security and security level).

Rijnland is an early adopter in obtaining the IEC 62443 certificate, both within the Union of Water Boards and in the Netherlands in general. With this certification, Rijnland wants to demonstrate that it is possible for more installations within the water board to be certified and possibly also for other water boards.

HUDSON CYBERTEC

In the spotlight

Monitoring your OT environment is essential. You know what is happening on your network and see to what extent you are compliant with various cyber security standards and laws and regulations.

IEC 62443 Standard

The IEC 62443 standard offers your organization tools to improve the digital security and safety of your IACS environment. Implementation of the standard improves the cybersecurity level of your organization's OT / ICS / SCADA environment.

The IEC 62443 is the international cybersecurity standards framework for operational technology (OT). The framework consists of a collection of standards, technical reports and related information for securing Industrial Automation and Control Systems (IACS).

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Hudson Cybertec’s IEC 62443 Competence Center has extensive experience with this standard. We play an active role in the development of the standard, actively promote it internationally and have developed a training program around the IEC 62443.

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It is becoming increasingly important for organizations to be able to demonstrate that the digital security of the OT environment is in accordance with standards frameworks. It is therefore possible to certify (parts of) your IACS environment according to IEC 62443.

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If you want to know more about this standard and need training on how to apply it within your own organization or at your clients, Hudson Cybertec has a number of very interesting training courses for you.

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The IEC 62443 standard provides organizations with tools to improve the digital security and safety of OT / ICS / SCADA environments.

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