Process stability is critical for standardized, large-batch manufacturing like at AGC Glass Germany. A delay in production, or worse, a complete breakdown of the production lines, can incur not only cancellation fees but, in many cases, expensive contractual penalty charges too. To combat this, AGC uses the Industry 4.0 platform Tomorrow Connect and its engineering apps (eApps) to gather real-time information about process stability and deviations from its set values.

The Industry 4.0 platform, Tomorrow Connect, was developed by Kaspersky partner Tomorrow Labs in collaboration with the Fraunhofer IPA and machine manufacturers. It collects, links and visualizes machine and ERP data from different manufacturers, allowing information from across departments and the company to be brought together to facilitate transparent, autonomous production.

AGC Glass Germany processes automotive glass panels produced elsewhere in the group to tailor them to its customers’ specific needs. This can include adding heating or rain sensors to the glass panels or surrounding them with seals. The glass elements are then taken on to production lines across the automotive industry.

A large amount of networked production equipment exponentially increases the number of weak points for cyberattacks. These can in turn cause considerable financial losses and long-lasting damage to a company’s image.

That is why AGC recognizes the importance of a sufficient cybersecurity solution. On top of that, a cybersecurity solution also provides considerable business benefits, including mitigating the risk of disruption, securing the supply chain and being regulation compliant.

“We have chosen Kaspersky as a technological partner because it is a recognized vendor for industrial cybersecurity”, says Jan Houben, plant manager at AGC Glass Germany GmbH. “The deep expertise and research, providing not only software but also threat intelligence and vulnerability assessments convinced us totally.”

To strengthen its security posture, AGC Glass Germany has chosen Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity. It is a specially designed portfolio of software products to protect industrial control systems (ICS).

KICS for Nodes secures ICS/SCADA servers, HMIs and engineering workstations from the various types of cyberthreats that can result from human factors, generic malware, targeted attacks or sabotage. KICS for Networks operates at the industrial communication protocol layer (Modbus, IEC stack, ISO, etc), analyzing industrial traffic for anomalies via advanced deep packet inspection (DPI) technology. It also provides asset discovery and network map visualization.

After two years of successful Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity implementation, AGC decided to expand the project by updating the existing installations of KICS for Nodes and KICS for Networks to the latest versions and integrating Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity with the Industry 4.0 platform Tomorrow Connect. This has resulted in new functionality and benefits for the overall cybersecurity framework:

Together with Tomorrow Labs, Kaspersky has successfully updated and adapted Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity products to suit the needs of AGC Glass Germany. This project allows the automotive glass manufacturer to be fully protected and react quickly to potential industrial cyberthreats. Additionally, it guarantees the integrity of the data transition to Tomorrow Connect thanks to the Kaspersky product. This expansion and enhancement of its industrial cybersecurity solution provided AGC with additional confidence in its production continuity and security, as well as making it even more trustworthy for its supply chain partners.

“Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity is based on a modular system, so it can be adapted to our individual requirements and specific infrastructures”, continues Jan Houben. “The solution gives us cybersecurity across all network levels without affecting the operational continuity of our technological processes.”

AGC Glass Germany is producing automotive glass for leading manufacturers such as BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes, Volvo and Opel since 2003. It employs 150 staff at its site in Wegberg near Mönchengladbach in Germany. AGC is a part of the Asahi Glass Company, a world-leading Japanese glass manufacturing group that employs more than 54,000 people in over 30 countries around the world. Learn more at https://www.agc-glass.eu/en.