IoT and ICS – Who’s in Charge?

You are! You’re reading this blog and have some interest on the status of your asset’s Industrial Control Systems and the devices attached to them. The Internet of Things is nothing new. You already know that various routers, servers, modems, PLCs, laptops have been and continue to be attached to your networks by contractors, drillers, OIMs, and company men. On offshore assets, the senior ET is probably the person responsible for what is attached to the network. But what does it say about this in your asset’s Management of Change (MOC) procedure?

Why do you care?

Over time, as offshore assets are utilized by different operators and touched by different contractors, the equipment has been changed, upgraded and maintained. We have found during our audits that MOC and maintenance records are available for less than 10% of all changes made. Assets begin changing as soon as they leave the shipyard. We have never seen a set of “as-built” network diagrams that look anything like the current “as-is” diagrams. And for network changes, there are usually no MOCs recorded, even though changing the digital communications router is just as critical as swapping the blue or yellow pods on your BOP.

What can you do about it?

Audit your network connections with your ETs on a regular basis. Enforce MOCs. Use software on your network that logs all connections and notifies you as soon as a connection is changed. Don’t run blind. The tools you need are simple and available.

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