Walt Boyes' Blog

Mr. Boyes, I read your article Users want an industrial wireless standard with enthusiasm since I've struggled with the promise of this technology in the workplace for several years. As I read through the discussion I realized that perhaps I'd missed the boat on wireless. Working with colleagues in house we've as much as dismissed that application of wireless as outlined for … [Read more...] about An End User Speaks Out on Industrial Wireless Standards

I LOVE TO BE SCHMOOZED I first learned the value of schmoozing when I was a young punk kid, building automation systems for Process Control Inc. in Columbus, Ohio. We had a sweet llittle deal with a local manufacturer, wherein we supplied them with PDP-11-based automation systems. We had installed three systems in the plant, and bid on another job with every expectation of … [Read more...] about At Emerson Exchange….Rich Merritt reports!

WANT TO SEE SOMETHING REALLY SCARY? Walt's reports about security problems were mirrored here at the Emerson user conference, with several sessions on cybersecurity. Then it got scary. A bunch of hackers from Idaho National Labs frightened the beejeesus out of about 250 attendees by demonstrating -- live -- how to use a laptop over the Internet to hack through two firewalls, … [Read more...] about And from Emerson Exchange….Something REALLY Scary…

This came from the CSIA eNewsletter: One of our Associate Members, MicroMod Automation, contacted us with the following information. They had been informed that an estimated 400 Waste Water treatment plants of various sizes have been damaged to some extent. Based on their records some 40% of the controls for these sites were of the 3 x 6 panel board type provided by Bailey / … [Read more...] about Micro Mod and the Katrina/Rita mess

Byres, who set out a decade ago to make himself the world's leading authority on process control security, and who has put lowly little British Columbia Institute of Technology on the map for politicians, regulators, process control experts, standards bodies, and the entire hacker community, returned for a second straight year to talk turkey about cybersecurity. He brought new … [Read more...] about Cyber Impacts on Industrial Control Systems– Invensys reprises Eric Byres