The world’s critical infrastructure relies heavily on Operational Technology (OT) systems to optimize processes, enhance efficiency, and ensure the smooth functioning of critical infrastructure. Often considered a “crown jewel” of the OT environment, the AVEVA PI Historian plays a pivotal role in collecting, managing, and analyzing time-series data. However, with great convenience comes responsibility—ensuring the security, stability, and usability of the historian’s database is paramount. A successful cyberattack on a PI historian can leave a critical infrastructure organization in the dark with zero visibility into their OT environment.
What is AVEVA PI?
AVEVA is a well-known provider of industrial software, and the PI System, including the PI Historian, has been widely adopted in various industries, including Oil & Gas, Manufacturing, Power Generation, and others. The system is known for its capabilities in real-time data management, analytics, and historical data storage, making it valuable for organizations seeking to optimize their operations.
Historians like PI and others serve as a crucial component for collecting, storing, and managing time-series data generated by various industrial processes and sensors. The historian captures real-time operational data and archives historical information, enabling organizations to analyze trends, identify patterns, and make informed decisions about system performance, efficiency, and overall operational integrity. It facilitates retrospective analysis, helps in troubleshooting issues, supports regulatory compliance by maintaining accurate records, and provides valuable insights for optimizing industrial processes over time, making it an essential tool for enhancing the reliability and efficiency of critical infrastructure in industries such as manufacturing, energy, and utilities.
In this blog, let's explore five reasons why securing AVEVA PI Historian environments is critical to infrastructure continuity and safety, and explore how OPSWAT can help secure this popular historian.
5 Reasons Why AVEVA PI Historians Need to Be Protected
1. Defense Against Cyberthreats
A compromised AVEVA PI Historian can lead to unauthorized access, data manipulation, or service disruptions, potentially causing significant operational and financial consequences. In the Oil & Gas, Manufacturing, Finance, Water Municipalities, and Power Generation industries, where downtime and data accuracy are critical, safeguarding historian databases is a frontline defense against cyberthreats.
2. Preservation of Operational Integrity
The AVEVA PI Historian is the backbone of many industrial processes, providing real-time and historical data crucial for decision-making. Any compromise to the historian’s database could compromise data integrity, leading to incorrect analysis and decision-making. In sectors like Oil & Gas and Power Generation, where precise data is vital for safety and regulatory compliance, securing the AVEVA PI Historian ensures the preservation of operational integrity.
3. Mitigating Financial Risks
Industries dealing with sensitive financial transactions require deep cybersecurity measures to protect against data breaches and financial fraud. A secure AVEVA PI Historian environment is essential to prevent unauthorized access to financial data, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and mitigating financial risks.
4. Preserving Operational Continuity
In various industries where industrial control systems heavily rely on AVEVA PI Historian databases, ensuring database continuity is critical. Compromised databases could lead to disruptions in crucial operations, potentially impacting efficiency and safety. Therefore, securing AVEVA PI Historian databases is not just about data protection; it's a crucial step in maintaining uninterrupted services and preventing potential operational challenges.
5. Protecting Against Industrial Espionage
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) industries across the broader spectrum are facing the risk of industrial espionage, where competitors may attempt to gain unauthorized access to proprietary processes and data. A secure AVEVA PI Historian environment is a key defense against such threats, protecting intellectual property and maintaining a competitive edge.
Better Together
MetaDefender Optical Diode™ (OPSWAT's data diode) and Unidirectional Security Gateway™ (USG) take a proactive stance against cyberthreats, securing critical systems while ensuring AVEVA PI Historian data is accurately replicated and available to key stakeholders for reporting and analysis. By seamlessly integrating with existing infrastructure, NetWall preserves the security of operational data while facilitating collaboration between IT and OT domains, keeping critical systems impervious to malicious attacks, malware, and unauthorized access attempts.
NetWall for AVEVA PI is a native replication without need for third party protocol converters running on PI Servers or other systems. NetWall for AVEVA PI supports many-to-one architectures, Backfill, PI Collectives, events, tags, tag data, and tag attribute replication and synchronization, with options for native High Availability. Additionally, MetaDefender Unidirectional Security Gateway (USG)s support the replication of PI Archive.
Learn more about why AVEVA PI is better with MetaDefender NetWall.
Securing AVEVA PI Historian databases goes beyond being a technical necessity; it is a strategic move for industries that rely on their OT environment. The risks posed by cyberthreats, potential operational disruptions, financial losses, and threats to public safety underscore the critical importance of comprehensive cybersecurity measures. As industries continue to advance in their digital transformations, a proactive and in-depth approach to securing AVEVA PI Historians is instrumental in ensuring the resilience and sustainability of critical infrastructure across diverse sectors.
Are you ready for MetaDefender NetWall to help you get the most out of your AVEVA PI Historian?
