CN-116804868-B - System and method for providing security to legacy devices

CN116804868BCN 116804868 BCN116804868 BCN 116804868BCN-116804868-B

Abstract

A system and method for protecting and preventing modification of configuration and firmware of legacy devices of industrial process control and automation systems includes setting a lock code in a device indexing means of the legacy device and executing a monitor program that reads the lock code and sets the legacy device to a locked state. When the legacy device is in a locked state, the executive prevents the configuration and firmware of the legacy device from being altered. The legacy device is arranged to be released from the locked state by setting an unlock code in a device indexing means of the legacy device and executing a monitoring program to read the unlock code and set the legacy device to the unlocked state. Executing the program allows the configuration and firmware of the legacy device to be altered when the legacy device is in the unlocked state.

Inventors

B. R. Reynolds

Assignees

霍尼韦尔国际公司

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230310
Priority Date: 20220324

Claims (4)

1. A method for protecting configuration and firmware of legacy devices of an industrial process control and automation system and preventing modification of the configuration and firmware, the method comprising: Reading a device indexing means of the legacy device as a first state; Executing, by the system, a monitor program configured to: determining whether the apparatus indexing device has changed to another state than the first state, and Determining, based on reading the device indexing means, whether the other state corresponds to at least a locked state or an unlocked state, wherein the locked state is determined based on the device indexing means representing a lock code, and wherein the unlocked state is determined based on the device indexing means representing an unlock code; placing, by the system, the legacy device in a dormant state for a set period of time based at least on determining that the other state does not correspond to at least the locked state or the unlocked state; determining whether the other state corresponds to at least the locked state or the unlocked state based on reading the equipment indexing device in response to expiration of the set time period, and An execution program that prevents modification of the configuration and firmware of the legacy device is executed by the system when the legacy device is in the locked state.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises releasing the legacy device from the locked state, the method comprising: when it is determined that the other state corresponds to the locked state, locking the legacy device from the unlocked state, wherein the locking of the legacy device comprises: executing the monitor program, the monitor program reading the lock code in the device indexing means and placing the legacy device in the locked state, and Executing the executive which prevents configuration and firmware changes to the legacy device in the locked state; Releasing the legacy device from the locked state when it is determined that the other state corresponds to the unlocked state, wherein the releasing of the legacy device comprises: setting the unlocking password in the equipment indexing device of the traditional equipment; executing the monitor program to read the unlocking password and set the legacy device to the unlocked state, and The execution program is executed to allow the configuration and firmware of the legacy device to be changed when the legacy device is in the unlocked state.
3. A system, the system comprising: A device indexing means associated with a conventional device, the device indexing means being operable to enter a first state, and Processing circuitry configured to execute a monitor, wherein the monitor is configured to: determining whether the apparatus indexing device has changed to another state than the first state; determining, based on reading the device indexing means, whether the other state corresponds to at least a locked state or an unlocked state, wherein the locked state is determined based on the device indexing means representing a lock code, and wherein the unlocked state is determined based on the device indexing means representing an unlock code; placing, by the system, the legacy device in a sleep state for a set period of time based at least on determining that the other state does not correspond to at least the locked state or the unlocked state; determining whether the other state corresponds to at least the locked state or the unlocked state based on reading the equipment indexing device in response to expiration of the set time period, and Executing an execution program that prevents modification of configuration and firmware of the legacy device in the locked state.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the legacy device is locked from the unlocked state when the other state is determined to correspond to the locked state, wherein to lock the legacy device, the processing circuit is further configured to: executing the monitor program, the monitor program reading the lock code in the device indexing means and placing the legacy device in the locked state, and Executing the execution program, the execution program preventing configuration and firmware changes to the legacy device, and Wherein the legacy device is released from the locked state by entering the unlock code in the device indexing means, wherein the monitor is configured to read the unlock code and place the legacy device in the unlocked state, thereby allowing the executive to make configuration and firmware changes to the legacy device.

Description

System and method for providing security to legacy devices Technical Field The present disclosure relates generally to industrial control and automation systems. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for protecting the configuration and firmware of legacy devices of industrial process control and automation systems and preventing modification of the configuration and firmware. Background Conventional process and safety controllers, gateways and IO modules used in industrial process control and automation systems have been deployed using older hardware technologies that do not have the latest network security protection such as, for example, secure boot, signed firmware and download verification. These legacy devices and system platforms supporting these devices may also not have the processing capabilities to provide secure, encrypted, and authenticated communications. Traditional devices rely heavily on layered system security of an automation system. However, if these system protections are compromised, then a malicious actor may gain access to the engineering workstation or process control network, thereby shutting down the legacy device, or worse, permanently disabling the legacy device by loading counterfeit firmware, which may result in loss of control of the device, poor control of the device, or even damage to the device to an unrecoverable point. Disclosure of Invention The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for protecting the configuration and firmware of legacy devices of industrial process control and automation systems and preventing modification of the configuration and firmware. In a first embodiment, a method is disclosed that includes setting a lock code in an equipment indexing device of a legacy equipment. The method further includes executing a monitor program that reads the lock password and sets the legacy device to a locked state, and executing an execution program that prevents modification of the configuration and firmware of the legacy device when the legacy device is in the locked state. The first embodiment also includes a method for releasing a legacy device from a locked state, the method comprising setting an unlock code in a device indexing of the legacy device, and executing a monitor to read the unlock code and set the legacy device to an unlocked state. Executing the program allows the configuration and firmware of the legacy device to be altered when the legacy device is in the unlocked state. In a second embodiment, a system is disclosed that includes an equipment indexing device associated with a legacy equipment. The device indexing means may be used to enter a lock code and the processing circuitry is configured to read the lock code and set the legacy device to a locked state. The device indexing means may also be used to enter an unlock code and the processing circuitry is configured to read the unlock code and set the legacy device to an unlocked state. Other technical features may be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, descriptions, and claims. Drawings For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 illustrates an example industrial process control and automation system according to this disclosure; FIG. 2 shows details of an exemplary controller according to the present disclosure; FIG. 3 illustrates a diagram of an exemplary method for setting a controller to a locked state in accordance with the present disclosure; FIG. 4 illustrates an equipment indexing device and equipment display for use in the method of FIG. 3 according to the present disclosure; FIG. 5 illustrates a diagram of an exemplary method for setting a controller to an unlocked state in accordance with the present disclosure; FIG. 6 illustrates an equipment indexing device and equipment display for use in the method of FIG. 5 according to the present disclosure; FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary method for monitoring an equipment indexing device of a controller in accordance with the present disclosure, and Fig. 8 illustrates a diagram of an exemplary method for performing a locked state of a controller according to the present disclosure. Detailed Description These drawings (discussed below) and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present invention in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present invention may be implemented in any type of suitably arranged device or system. It is a benefit of the present disclosure to provide a method to lock devices used in industrial process control and automation systems, such as, for example, controllers, wireless gateways, or I/O modules, from an