Systems and methods to secure industrial sensors and actuators
First Claim
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1. A process control system to facilitate authentication of IO-Link devices within a process control network, the system comprising:
- a PLC comprising a plurality of IO paths;
a serial link coupled to the PLC, the serial link is configured to operate an IO-Link;
an IO-Link device coupled to the serial link; and
a PLC compute node coupled to the PLC, the compute node configures the IO-Link device, wherein the serial link comprises;
an IO-Link secure master transceiver coupled to a programmable microcontroller; and
an authentication module configured to secure data received from an IO-link device secure transceiver.
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Abstract
Various embodiments of the invention provide for secure data communication in industrial process control architectures that employ a network of sensors and actuators. In various embodiments, data is secured by a secure serial transmission system that detects and authenticates IO-Link devices that are equipped with secure transceivers circuits, thereby, ensuring that non-trusted or non-qualified hardware is prevented from connecting to a network and potentially compromising system behavior.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A process control system to facilitate authentication of IO-Link devices within a process control network, the system comprising:
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a PLC comprising a plurality of IO paths; a serial link coupled to the PLC, the serial link is configured to operate an IO-Link; an IO-Link device coupled to the serial link; and a PLC compute node coupled to the PLC, the compute node configures the IO-Link device, wherein the serial link comprises; an IO-Link secure master transceiver coupled to a programmable microcontroller; and an authentication module configured to secure data received from an IO-link device secure transceiver. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method to authenticate an IO-Link device, the method comprising:
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detecting the presence of a device that comprises an IO-Link secure transceiver; sending an authorization request from an IO-Link secure master transceiver to the device; receiving a response signal from the device in response to the authorization request; validating the device based on the response signal; and determining whether the device is compatible with another device; and enabling a transmission via a communication channel in response to detecting that the response signal is valid. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A device to authenticate an IO-Link device, the device comprising:
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a first IO-Link secure transceiver configured to communicate with a programmable microcontroller; and authentication module configured to secure data that is transmitted to or received from a second IO-Link secure transceiver, the authentication module is configured to provide one of an encryption processing and a decryption processing of the data. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification