System and methodology providing audit recording and tracking in real time industrial controller environment
DCFirst Claim
1. An electronic audit system for an industrial control environment, comprising:
- a recording component to log real time interactions with one or more industrial control components; and
a tracking component to aggregate the real time interactions to facilitate generation of audit data relating to the one or more industrial control components.
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a system and methodology facilitating automated audit recording and tracking of PLC-based interactions. A recording component is provided that interacts with an application that can change or alter one or more characteristics of PLC operations. The recording component can be client-based on the same or associated platform as the application or can be embedded within a control system component. When interactions have been recorded, a tracking component aggregates such interactions in a file or record stored in a local or remote database, wherein audit reports that document control interactions or changes can automatically be generated from such files. Recorded interactions can be stored in a substantially real time manner and include records of all interactions with a control system as opposed to merely saving a final program or resultant image of such interactions, thus facilitating a more controlled and secure auditing environment.
279 Citations
39 Claims
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1. An electronic audit system for an industrial control environment, comprising:
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a recording component to log real time interactions with one or more industrial control components; and a tracking component to aggregate the real time interactions to facilitate generation of audit data relating to the one or more industrial control components. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for verifying an industrial control process, comprising:
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monitoring activity data directed to one or more control components; tagging at least one file that is related to the or more control components; logging the activity data in at least one of a local and a remote location; and aggregating the logged activity data in the at least one file. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
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28. A audit system for an industrial control process, comprising:
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means for logging current access attempts for an industrial control process; means for at least one of communicating and categorizing the access attempts; means for storing the access attempts; and means for generating a report that details the access attempts that have occurred over time.
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29. A computer readable medium having stored thereon a data structure, comprising:
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a first data field representing real time access data to an industrial control component; a second data field representing a tag name to store and aggregate the real time access data; and a third data field to categorize the real time access data. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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33. An audit system for an industrial control process, comprising:
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a client application to store real time network access data directed to at least one industrial control component, the network access data employed to generate an audit report for the at least one industrial control component; and a security component associated with the client application to facilitate at least one of secure communications and secure storage of the real time network access data. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification