Cyber Hub- Protecting AM Industry from Cyber Threats

Interview with Thomas McDermott (Executive Officer of DMDII), by 3DPI

How do you product 3D printing enterprises against cyber-security risks?

This month the Digital Manufacturing Design and Innovation Institute (DMDII) launched a $750,000 Cyber Hub for Manufacturing intending to defend of cyber-espionage attacks against the manufacturing sector. The seed funding comes from the United States Department of Defense (DOD) and the project’s part of a partnership with UI LABS.

Thomas McDermott (executive Director of DMDII) explains more about Cyber Hub for Manufacturing, the vulnerable attack vectors and how enterprises can protect themselves.

A 2017 Verizon data breach investigation report affirms that about 35%  of all cyber-espionage attacks in the U.S. target the manufacturing sector.

Industrial 3D printing is taking a central role of digital manufacturing and the emerging Industry 4.0 eco-system protecting assets is an important task.

 

“We need to think about securing our manufacturing equipment the way we secure our laptops, and the complexity of this issue means our partners will get there much faster by working together.”

-Thomas McDermott-

“The launch of the Cyber Hub for Manufacturing embodies why DMDII exists”

Thomas McDermott- DMDII’s Executive Officer

3DPI: How does Additive Manufacturing/industrial 3D printing fit into state-of-the-art in digital manufacturing in America?

TM: Additive manufacturing is an increasingly capable and applicable process for a wide range of manufacturing applications. Most large and many small manufacturers are exploring how to best incorporate additive manufacturing into their workflow. The true transformation for manufacturers comes when additive manufacturing technologies are coupled with advancements in design capabilities such as generative design tools. When manufacturers can design superior products that human designers would struggle to conceptualize, and now can create those products where subtractive manufacturing was previously incapable, it creates the opportunity for step change improvements in product function, performance, and manufacturing cost.

                             Manufacturing’s progression to Industry 4.0. Image via: Sheffield.ac.uk

3DPI: Can you say anything about cybersecurity threats specific to 3D printing or Additive Manufacturing, and how these can be addressed?

TM: The attack vectors for additive manufacturing are the same ones that present a cybersecurity threat for advanced manufacturing overall. They could be remote, local, or physical, and include well-known strategies such as malware infections that exploit vulnerabilities of CAD/CAM software or operating systems.

3DPI: What can you tell our readers about the project 15-07-05: From Art to Part?

TM: “From Art to Part” is a pioneering project in the metal additive manufacturing space. Led by GE Global Research, the project is bringing dramatic performance improvements to 3D-printed metallic additive manufacturing through an integrated digital simulation toolkit. The software under development leverages deep subject-matter expertise from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University of Cincinnati to better predict microscopic interactions between metallic powder and the high-powered laser that fuses the powder into a solid. Ultimately, through better prediction and print simulation, this technology will decrease design development cycles for metal additive parts from 10-12 to 2-3 weeks.

Mohammad Ehteshami VP Additive Integration GE Additive speaking at the 2017 Materialise World Summit. Photo by Michael Petch (3DPI)

3DPI: If manufacturers using 3D printing are concerned about cyber security, what should they do?

TM: As with any type of manufacturing, a security architecture that relies on a single point of protection is likely to be defeated in a cyber-attack. The general recommendation is for manufacturers to use an architecture that has multiple layers of defenses. Additionally, basic cybersecurity hygiene, which often involves significant culture change and the adoption of new policies, is of critical importance. This could include items such as forcing password changes, eliminating shared accounts, restricting equipment access based on user needs, and regularly completing equipment and software security updates.

The Institute whose CEO’s Caralynn Nowinski Collens is working to simplify the process of complying with cybersecurity protocols required to do business with the U.S. Department of Defense, and one of its project has resulted in a tool that streamlines the process and provides detailed suggestions and templates to attain compliance. As we stand up the Cyber Hub for Manufacturing at DMDII, additional resources for small and medium manufacturers to shore up their cybersecurity practices are forthcoming.

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