Modularization is a widely accepted approach to meet the flexibility requirements of production plants in the process industry. In particular, the Module Type Package (MTP) described in VDI/VDE/NAMUR~2658 is seen as a possible centerpiece of modular automation. A clear separation of the engineering effort into system-independent module engineering and system-specific integration engineering as well as rapid integration of the automation system of a module into a higher-level process control system change the basic automation architecture.

The security view of modularization and especially of the MTP concept is very fragmented to non-existent due to problems in the migration of security mechanisms of monolithic plants to the MTP concept and difficulties of risk assessment in a modular context.

Aims

The aim of this work is to carry out a risk-based security analysis of a real MTP-based automation system. This system is to be provided by a partner from the process industry.

Helpful prior knowledge

The following prior knowledge is helpful (but not required) for working on the thesis:

• Security for industrial automation and control systems
• Module Type Package