Percipient-IoT

IIoT is a network of intelligent devices connected to form systems that monitor, collect, exchange and analyze data. Each industrial IIoT ecosystem consists of:

• connected devices that can sense, communicate and store information about themselves;
• public and/or private data communications infrastructure;
• analytics and applications that generate business information from raw data;
• storage for the data that is generated by the IIoT devices; and

These edge devices and intelligent assets transmit information directly to the data communications infrastructure, where it's converted into actionable information on how a certain piece of machinery is operating. This information can be used for predictive maintenance, as well as to optimize business processes.

The convergence of IT and OT provides industries with greater system integration in terms of automation and optimization, as well as better visibility of the supply chain and logistics. The monitoring and control of physical infrastructures in industrial operations, such as in agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation, and utilities, are made easier through the use of smart sensors and actuators as well as remote access and control.

Adopters are also faced with the challenge of properly integrating industrial operations with IT, where both connection and information need to be secured.  While gathered data plays an important role in generating insights for the devices and infrastructures, it is imperative that personal information be segregated from general log data. Information like personally identifiable information (PII) should be stored in an encrypted database. Storing unencrypted information together with other relevant activity in the cloud could mean businesses running the risk of exposure. 

By installing micro sensors on preexisting machinery, Oil and Gas companies can gain unlimited access to a pool of data describing system health in real-time, allowing operators to become intuitive to the network's ebb and flow and making it possible to pinpoint skewed numbers. Real-time performance analytics distance business owners from the expense of damage control while catalyzing production.

Not only will business owners experience a decline in system failures, but also a decrease in on-site accidents. There is an inherent risk associated with the oil and gas industry; the operation is dangerous and easily corruptible. In the past, we have seen oil rig explosions, exposure to toxins, workers falling from extreme heights—it is not an easy environment to work in. Because many of these accidents occur due to system error, IIoT preventative analytics have the potential to greatly reduce these accidents, minimizing lawsuits based on gross negligence.

Remote Monitoring

This is how IIoT tackles human capital management. As the aging workforce enters retirement, they will be replaced by IIoT remote monitoring centers, off-site facilities where operators process incoming data from the microprocessors. This is also a means of reducing accidents; if fewer workers are subjected to the risks of such a caustic work environment, inevitably there will be less accidents and injuries.

The average oil rig worker makes 100k/year, a salary scaled to the risks and niche skillset required to do the job. Perhaps, as the aging workforce dissipates organically and we discover new applications for the big data propagated through IIoT networks, Oil and Gas companies will be able to downsize their workforce while still maintaining the same rate of production. M2M collaboration across an IIoT is not a human replacement, but a supplement rather. We are not replacing humans with machines; we are simply enhancing understanding with absolute human to machine collaboration and helping experts do their jobs more efficiently.

By sending analytics from offshore rigs, directly to a mobile device, workers can respond to data remotely, managing system adjustments without physically being there. This access comes from a custom dashboard that corresponds with all microprocessors.

Asset Management

Oil and Gas cultivation comes with natural limitations, an organic but finite asset, and for this reason asset management is imperative for the oil and gas industry. Although the public awareness of fossil fuel scarcity is at its peak, the rate of excavation is as well. Every year, we see emerging technologies that allow oil rig operations to drill faster and with greater accuracy—multi-well pads, mobile rigs, electrically powered rigs.

IIoT Interconnectivity

The IIoT creates interconnectivity between these technologies, providing a platform for them to converse. In supporting M2M communication, oil and gas enterprises will be able to access minute by minute data illustrating productivity and mapping out the life cycle of each well, while simultaneously determining the coordinates of oil-rich reservoirs to drill into next. Not only, does the IIoT provide inventory management, but also helps operators decide when it's time to move on.

Machine to machine communication is the IIoT's selling point, but I find it also improves human to human communication as well. Human communication is one of the greatest barriers to enterprise in general because it often goes overlooked, especially for companies with a large, international workforce. The IIoT has the potential to bridge gaps in communication between workers by funneling data into a user-friendly dashboard that can be accessed from anywhere. Granting all workers access to the same data pool will eliminate departmental divide and foster a unified vision to carry into practice, helping the whole system run more cohesively, humans and machines alike.

Of course, we are still uncovering ways to apply IIoT big data, and to be frank, there are some technologies the oil and gas industry does not know how to apply yet. Nevertheless, it is better to be at a surplus than a deficit, and for the first time in a while, the oil and gas industry has access to more numbers than they know how to process.

IIoT Security.

Businesses may have grown familiar with the probable business impact of having IT systems go down because of cybercrime or malware infection. However, the convergence of IT and OT introduces a new significant risk factor: real-world threats that could affect even civilians.

Technology fragmentation, and IIoT, by extension, isn’t exempt from the coexistence of different standards, protocols, and architectures. The varying use in IIoT systems, for example, of standards and protocols such as Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) and Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) may hinder IIoT systems’ interoperability.

Many security problems associated with the IIoT stem from a lack of basic security measures in place. Security gaps like exposed ports, inadequate authentication practices, and obsolete applications contribute to the emergence of risks. Combine these with having the network directly connected to the internet and more potential risks are invited.

Unsecure IIoT systems can lead to operational disruption and monetary loss, among other considerable consequences. More connected environments mean more security risks, such as:

• Software vulnerabilities that can be exploited to attack systems.
• internet-connected devices and systems.
• Malicious activities like hacking, targeted attacks, and data breaches.
• System manipulation that can cause operational disruption (e.g., product recalls) or sabotage processes (e.g., production line stoppage).
• System malfunction that can result in damage of devices and physical facilities or injury to operators or people nearby.
• OT systems held for extortion, as compromised through the IT environment.

Having a security operations center (SOC) is critical in proactively monitoring and defending against the broad range of threats that affect connected environments. This centralized unit allows industries and enterprises to oversee the significant number of alerts that they may encounter and to enable quick response. SOCs are especially beneficial for facilities in need of better visibility and continuous analysis of their security posture. It is the goal of SOC teams to detect security incidents or any anomalous activity and be able to immediately address issues before any compromise could occur. This approach addresses the challenges that could come with legacy systems, low system visibility, and slow response times. With an SOC, alerts will be prioritized and threat correlation will be more optimized to enable enterprises to manage both IT and OT.

However, shifts in the threat landscape as well as industrial infrastructures require organizations to adapt their protection for the new and unknown threats that they may encounter.

Having a full stack of protection purposely built into the different layers of IIoT implementations would enable industries and enterprises to securely conduct their operations. These security layers include the device, the network, and the cloud.