Welcome back to this series, introducing the IEC 62443 standard. The first article was a general introduction to IEC 62443, this one, and the next 3 will focus on some of the individual documents making up the IEC 62443 standard. This article will be looking into the documents in the below table:
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62443-1-1 Concepts & Models 62443-1-2 Terms and Abbreviations 62443-1-3 System security conformance metrics 62443-1-4 IACS Security lifecycle and use cases |
The documents making up the series under the IEC 62443-1 umbrella are more conceptual in nature, but still important, especially if you are new to nomenclature that is part of industrial systems. I have included a file with the most common names and terms, with explanations at the end of this article. It is not as complete as the documents in the IEC 62443-1 series, but it does provide you with some explanations. The documents in the IEC 62443 standard has a cost, so this will get you started without having to pay from the get-go. Let’s look at some of the details for that series.
For me to provide you with enough knowledge to discern any value these documents can provide you with, I will describe some of the content for each of the documents individually in the next sections. These sections will by nature be fairly succinct, in order for this article to be of a reasonable length!
IEC 62443-1-1
IEC 62443-1-1 lays the foundational concepts and models for the entire IEC 62443 series. It provides a common language and framework for stakeholders involved in IACS cybersecurity—such as asset owners, integrators, and product suppliers.
This document might seem redundant to some, but remember, IEC 62443 is written by engineers, for engineers. Some of the definitions are important for the context of some of the controls and measures recommended in later documents.
Key Content Areas
- Terminology and Definitions
- Establishes a standardized vocabulary for the series.Definitions for terms like zone, conduit, threat, vulnerability, risk, and countermeasure.
- Overview of Industrial Automation and Control Systems (IACS)
- Describes the structure and function of typical IACS, including components like:
- Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems
- Distributed control systems (DCS)
- Programmable logic controllers (PLC)
- Security Objectives
- Details the security properties important to IACS, such as:
- Availability
- Integrity
- Confidentiality
- Places emphasis on availability being the most critical for many industrial systems.
- Details the security properties important to IACS, such as:
- Threat Landscape
- Discusses types of threats, including:
- Deliberate attacks (e.g., hacking, malware)
- Accidental events (e.g., configuration errors)
- Environmental events (e.g., natural disasters)
- Discusses types of threats, including:
- Security Lifecycle Model
- Introduces the security lifecycle, similar to safety lifecycles in functional safety standards like IEC 61508.
- Covers:
- Risk assessment
- Design
- Implementation
- Operation
- Maintenance
- Decommissioning
- Concept of Zones and Conduits
- Defines a model to segment the system into security zones and conduits:
- Zones: Logical or physical groupings of assets with similar security requirements.
- Conduits: Secure communication paths between zones.
- This model forms the basis for access control and risk mitigation.
- Defines a model to segment the system into security zones and conduits:
- Roles and Responsibilities
- Identifies key roles in IACS cybersecurity:
- Asset Owner
- System Integrator
- Product Supplier
- Service Providers
- Identifies key roles in IACS cybersecurity:
- Security Levels (SLs)
- Introduces the concept of Security Levels (SL 1 to SL 4):
- SL 1: Protection against casual or coincidental violation.
- SL 4: Protection against sophisticated attackers with extended resources.
- Introduces the concept of Security Levels (SL 1 to SL 4):
This is just a high-level description of the content with the IEC 62443-1-1 document, as you can see, there is quite a bit of information on a wide area of subjects, in just one document!
IEC 62443-1-2
Industrial communication networks – Network and system security – Part 1-2: Master glossary of terms and abbreviations.
IEC 62443-1-2 serves as a comprehensive reference of terminology and abbreviations used across the entire IEC 62443 series. It ensures consistency in how cybersecurity-related terms are defined and interpreted throughout the standards.
This document supports clear communication among all stakeholders involved in securing industrial automation and control systems (IACS).
Key Content Areas
- Glossary of Terms
- An alphabetically organized list of key cybersecurity terms.
- Each term includes a definition, and sometimes contextual notes or source references.
- Examples:
- Asset – Any data, device, or other component that supports IACS functions.
- Defence in depth – A layered approach to cybersecurity.
- Risk – A combination of the likelihood of an event and its consequences.
- Security level (SL) – A measure of resistance against a defined set of threats.
- Abbreviations and Acronyms
- Provides expansions and explanations of commonly used acronyms across IEC 62443.
- Examples:
- IACS – Industrial Automation and Control Systems
- PL – Programmable Logic
- IDS – Intrusion Detection System
- SL – Security Level
- Cross-references
- Many terms point back to the IEC 62443 part where they are defined.
- Helps users locate detailed explanations in the context of their original use.
IEC 62443-1-2 should be seen as a supplementary reference, helping users interpret language used in:
- Requirements documents (e.g., IEC 62443-3-3) see next article in this series
- Technical reports
- Risk assessment methodologies (e.g., IEC 62443-3-2) see next article in this series
IEC 62443-1-3
Industrial communication networks – Network and system security – Part 1-3: System security conformance metrics.
IEC 62443-1-3 provides a framework for measuring conformance to the cybersecurity requirements defined in the IEC 62443 series. It introduces metrics that help organizations evaluate and demonstrate the effectiveness of their security implementations for industrial automation and control systems (IACS).
Key Content Areas
- Introduction to Security Metrics
- Defines what security metrics are and their importance.
- Explains the difference between leading (proactive) and lagging (reactive) indicators.
- Emphasizes the need for metrics that are measurable, repeatable, and actionable.
- Types of Metrics
The document classifies security metrics into categories, such as:
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Measure how well an organization meets defined cybersecurity requirements |
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Assess risk levels based on threat, vulnerability, and asset value |
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Track effectiveness of security processes (e.g., response time to incidents) |
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Evaluate maturity of cybersecurity processes and controls |
3. Conformance Metrics Model
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- Introduces a multi-level model for conformance based on:
- Asset owner practices
- System integrator implementations
- Product supplier capabilities
- Describes how to assign scores or levels to these areas based on observed performance.
- Introduces a multi-level model for conformance based on:
4. Mapping Metrics to Security Levels (SLs)
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- Connects metrics with Security Levels (SL 1 to SL 4) as defined in other parts of the standard (like IEC 62443-3-3).
- Helps determine if an organization or system achieves a particular SL.
5. Implementation Guidance
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- Offers guidance on:
- Selecting appropriate metrics based on system context
- How to collect and analyze data
- How to report and interpret results
- Offers guidance on:
6. Use Cases and Examples
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- Illustrates how conformance metrics might be applied in real-world IACS environments.
- May include hypothetical systems or organization scenarios.
Security metrics are extremely important for the management of a cybersecurity approach to industrial systems. If you cant measure something, you cant manage it!
IEC 62443-1-4
Industrial communication networks – Network and system security – Part 1-4: IACS Security Lifecycle and Use Cases.
IEC 62443-1-4 defines the security lifecycle for Industrial Automation and Control Systems (IACS) and provides real-world use cases to illustrate how the IEC 62443 concepts and processes can be applied across different phases of the system lifecycle.
This document builds on the foundational concepts from earlier parts of the series (like 1-1) and is meant to help stakeholders implement cybersecurity holistically throughout thelifecycle of an industrial system—from concept to decommissioning.
Key Content Areas
- IACS Security Lifecycle Model
- Defines the complete cybersecurity lifecycle of an IACS, analogous to the safety lifecycle in standards like IEC 61508.
- Key phases include:
- Initiation / Concept
- Design and Implementation
- Operation and Maintenance
- Decommissioning
- Each phase includes cybersecurity objectives, activities, and deliverables.
- Lifecycle Roles and Responsibilities
- Identifies the roles of:
- Asset Owner
- System Integrator
- Product Supplier
- Service Providers
- Clarifies how responsibilities are distributed across the lifecycle phases.
- Identifies the roles of:
- Integration with Risk Management
- Describes how the lifecycle aligns with risk-based approaches, particularly:
- Threat and risk assessments (TRAs)
- Security level target (SL-T) assignment
- Implementation of countermeasures
- Promotes continuous monitoring and reassessment as risks evolve over time.
- Describes how the lifecycle aligns with risk-based approaches, particularly:
- Use Cases
- Provides illustrative scenarios to demonstrate:
- Application of the lifecycle in real-world contexts
- How different stakeholders interact
- Handling typical challenges (e.g., integrating legacy systems, remote access, patching in live environments)
- These use cases help organizations see how theory meets practice.
- Provides illustrative scenarios to demonstrate:
- Security Controls Across the Lifecycle
- Explains how security controls and countermeasures should be applied and adapted in each phase.
- Discusses how maintenance, incident response, and updates are managed securely.
The use cases that is part of this document, are particularly useful, since they provide us with guidance on implementation!
Outro
This was a VERY high-level introduction to thee documents in the IEC 62443-1 series of documents. You might be thinking that these documents, because of their introductory nature to industrial security is of no use to you, and you MIGHT be right. But remember that you might interact with other vendors, maybe even in other countries, and using the same vocabulary, and having the same understanding of the terms is very important in those cases, so do not dismiss the value of the IEC 62443-1 series of documents!
In the next article in this series, I will be looking into the IEC 62443-2 series of documents, covering risks and risk assessments in re3lation to industrial systems, so stay tuned.
Check out the rest of the series: Part I | Part II | Vocabulary
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