Following an executive order signed by President Barack Obama in early 2013, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has created a Cybersecurity Framework, the first step in a comprehensive plan to safeguard American industry and critical infrastructure from potentially crippling cyberattack. Automation Federation, Research Triangle Park, N.C., has been actively involved in the development of the Cybersecurity Framework, and will host a no-cost seminar in February.

At the seminar, representatives from the White House, NIST and leading cybersecurity subject matter experts will explain the importance of the Cybersecurity Framework, and they will illustrate why industrial automation control systems (IACS) security standards are such vital components of the plan and essential to its successful implementation.

Seminar attendees will learn:

At NIST’s request, the Automation Federation and its affiliated organization, the International Society of Automation (ISA), have served as advisors to the federal government in the formation of the framework. Both the Automation Federation and ISA strongly recommended that the ANSI/ISA99 IACS security standards be incorporated as essential framework components.

The ANSI/ISA99 standards — developed by a cross-section of international cybersecurity subject-matter experts from industry, government and academia — apply to all key industry sectors and critical infrastructure and, as a result, provide the flexibility to address and mitigate current and future vulnerabilities in IACS.

The seminar will be held on February 21, 2014, from 8 a.m. to noon at Jefferson State Community College - Shelby County Campus, in Birmingham, Ala. To register, contact Isaac Queen at 256-215-4253 or via email at iqueen@atn.org.