As cloud computing proliferates and digitization becomes the norm in the oil and gas sector, anxieties over cybersecurity that turned off industry players from allowing their data to be stored off site, are gradually easing, according to a senior industry executive.
Nathalie Marcotte, Senior Vice President, Industry Services & Cybersecurity at Schneider Electric, believes acceptance of the need and benefits of storing large volumes of data off site versus on premise, has risen exponentially in the last five years.
Speaking to your correspondent, at the global management and automation company's recently concluded Innovation Summit in Atlanta, U.S., Marcotte said: "We have been in the remote connectivity business for a long time, and I can tell you from personal experience that even as recently as five years ago, if you pitched cloud-based or off premise solutions to some in the energy industry, they would not engage with you.
"However, now I see all that changing. Maybe the change is not as fast some would like, but there is definitely a change of attitudes in the air. Much of it is down to demonstrating to customers - many of whom we have worked with for decades - that the value and benefits outweigh anxieties over cyber-risk."
Marcotte admitted there is no such thing as "zero risk", but the energy industry now sees vendors come up with structured solutions, risk assessment mechanisms and state-of-the-art risk reduction architecture and that changes decision-makers' thinking.
"Additionally, we are willing to walk with them as far as they'd like us to on their digitization pathway. On the pure cloud solutions aspect, we engage with them over discussions from a complete private cloud to a hybrid of keeping some of the data on premise, and perhaps less critical data on the cloud."
And the Schneider Electric executive added that whether it's a legacy oil and gas facility or a new build, decisions over cloud and data storage narrows down to the corporate mindset. "You could find a legacy plant operator wanting off premise data storage and a new build site, either due to local regulations or project sponsor's mindset, demanding on premise storage."
From its perspective, the company wants energy sector players to embrace cloud and remote connectivity in ever greater volumes, as it pours billions into digital solutions and cybersecurity research and development.
It is aggressively marketing its Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) architecture called 'EcoStruxure' to deliver smart machine solutions within the energy sphere, which is ripe for the taking given efficiency and process optimization have become quite the buzzwords since the oil price slump of 2014.
Marcotte said cybersecurity worries remain a top barrier for the adoption of IIoT. "People, Processes, Technology – all aspects of the chain need to be beefed up. Technology is doing its bit, but personnel need to play their part. There no such thing as "minimum compliance"; there is either compliance or non-compliance."
Going forward, enhanced cybersecurity training, getting basic security protocols right and the deployment of emerging technologies will ultimately result in lower incident rates and higher usage of cloud and off premise data storage solutions in the sector.
Ultimately, the security challenge goes beyond the sector to the wider mining and manufacturing sphere where customers, vendors, suppliers, integrators, standards bodies, industry groups and government agencies must all work together to minimize risk, Marcotte concluded.
Realistically speaking, those clunky storage servers tucked away in air conditioned rooms at the back of petrochemical plants are not disappearing anytime soon, but the availability of options and changing attitudes are gradually limiting their scope and usage down to perhaps only the most critical bit of processing. Some are hoping even that would change sooner rather than later.
