Access Control in Dynamic Industrial Automation and Control Systems: Björn Leander (MDU, ABB)

Access Control in Dynamic Industrial Automation and Control Systems: Björn Leander (MDU, ABB)

Industrial control systems are undergoing a transformation driven by business requirements as well as technical advances, aiming towards increased connectivity, flexibility and high level of modularity, which consequently implies a need to revise existing cybersecurity measures. Access control, being one of the major security mechanisms in any system, is largely affected by these advances. Certain system types will by their nature be dynamic, i.e., the composition and functionality of the system is not well defined at design time. This short talk will describe current challenges and provide some solutions in the area of access control policy formulation and enforcement in such dynamic systems.

Björn Leander graduated as a M.Sc in Computer Science and Control Theory, from Luleå University of Technology in 2002. After working with many aspects of software development, he started at ABB in 2014, where he now works as a cybersecurity engineer at ABB Industrial Automation, Process Control Platform, working in R&D projects related to engineering and control. In 2019 he continued his academic career as an industrial PhD Student at Mälardalen University as part of the ARRAY postgraduate school. His research area is within the intersection of industrial automation systems, the industrial internet and cybersecurity, with an orientation toward access control.