18 March 2020
New Guide to Cybersecurity Standards: ISAGCA Introduces an Overview of the ISA/IEC 62443 Series

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (18 March 2020)—The International Society of Automation (ISA) and the ISA Global Cybersecurity Alliance have released a new guide to the world’s only consensus-based automation cybersecurity standards.

“Quick Start Guide: An Overview of the ISA/IEC 62443 Series of Standards,” now available for download at isa.org/cyberguide, provides a high-level view of the objectives and benefits of these standards—as  well as easy-to-use explainers on how to navigate them. The guide explores how and why IT and OT/ICS need unique types of protection against cyber threats and offers the latest recommendations on patch management.

This new guide answers some of the most common questions about the ISA/IEC 62443 Standards, including:

• Why is this series of standards important? What are the benefits of using the standards?
• How are IT and ICS systems different?
• Which documents are part of the series and how can I use them to find what I need?
• Where can I find the current best practices around patch management?
  
  

The ISA Global Cybersecurity Alliance’s Advocacy and Adoption work group coordinated the development of the guide, which was authored by Johan Nye and reviewed by the ISA99 committee. Nye is an independent consultant specializing in industrial control systems and cybersecurity. During his career spanning more than 38 years, Nye has designed ICS system architectures, created company standards and policies, implemented major ICS projects, supported ICS site engineers, and contributed to the design of several ICS products.

“Automation cybersecurity standards are crucial in this increasingly connected world,” says Mary Ramsey, ISA executive director. “The ISA/IEC 62443 Series of Standards leads the way as the world’s only consensus-based standards that focus on automation cybersecurity. One goal of the ISA Global Cybersecurity Alliance is to raise awareness of these standards and encourage their adoption across a wide range of industries. We are grateful to the ISAGCA Advocacy and Adoption work group, the ISA99 committee, and Johan Nye for distilling these standards into a user-friendly format that can be shared widely.”

“Quick Start Guide: An Overview of the ISA/IEC 62443 Series of Standards” can be accessed by filling out a form at isa.org/cyberguide.

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