Infineon and Fraunhofer Present Security Solution for PLC-based Industrial Automation Systems

Munich and Hanover, Germany – April 13, 2015 – The digitalization and increasing networking of production require significantly higher security standards in industrial automation than has it previously been. Digital threats based on malware, incorrect firmware updates, and counterfeit components can bring entire production lines to a standstill and cause significant costs. Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied and Integrated Security (AISEC) have developed a solution that protects PLC (programmable logic controller)-based industrial automation systems from unauthorized access and manipulation. It will be presented for the first time at the Hannover Messe, the world's biggest industrial fair, at the booth of the German Engineering Association VDMA (Hall 8, booth D08; April 13-17, 2015).

“Our security solution improves the availability and efficiency of production systems,” says Juergen Spaenkuch, Head of Platform Security at Infineon Technologies. “It can be easily integrated into industrial automation systems to increase the protection against IT attacks and manipulation.”

According to a recent study by PwC and Strategy& European industrial companies are expected to invest 140 billion Euros per year in Industrial Internet applications by 2020.

“In the smart factory, system integrity and data security will be essential,” says Steffen Zimmermann, head of Product and Know-How Protection at VDMA (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau, German Engineering Association), the largest industrial association in Europe. “The security solution from Infineon and Fraunhofer AISEC protects production facilities, intellectual property, and process know-how. This creates trust in Industry 4.0 applications and increases the competitiveness of the German industry.”

The security solution consists of Infineon’s security chips of the OPTIGA™ Trust product family as a hardware-based trust anchor and complementing software. Both, security chips and software, are available and can be optimized to customer- and application-specific needs.

Access to the system is granted only to components or machines that can identify themselves reliably and that therefore are considered trustworthy. Counterfeit replacement parts or unauthorized repair tools can thereby be detected and rejected. The solution also secures programming or programming processes from manipulation due to malware or an incorrect software update – an aspect that will gain in importance as the remote service and remote repair of industrial facilities grows more common. The combination of security chips that are comparable to a data safe and encryption prevents the PLC code from extraction and therefore protects valuable intellectual property and process know-how from theft.

Further information is available at: www.infineon.com/iot-security

About Fraunhofer AISEC

Fraunhofer Institute for Applied and Integrated Security AISEC under the responsibility of Prof. Dr. Claudia Eckert is one of the leading research institutions in Europe. Fraunhofer AISEC is focused on development of application-oriented security solutions and their precise and tailored integration into existing systems. Core competences of over 90 scientific and technical members of staff lie in the areas of hardware security and the security of embedded systems, product and intellectual property protection, network security, and security in cloud- and service-oriented computing. Fraunhofer AISEC’s clients operate in a variety of industrial sectors, such as the chip card industry, telecommunications, the automotive industry, and mechanical engineering, as well as the software and healthcare industries. The main goal is to support and improve the competitiveness of our clients and partners in the manufacturing and service sectors as well as those in the public sector.

Press Contact Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Institute AISEC
Viktor Deleski, Head of PR & Marketing Department
Parkring 4
85748 Garching, Germany
Phone:+49 89 32299 86-169
Cell:+49 172 59 38 313
Email: viktor.deleski@aisec.fraunhofer.de

Infineon Technologies AG is a world leader in semiconductors. Infineon offers products and system solutions addressing three central challenges to modern society: energy efficiency, mobility and security. In the 2014 fiscal year (ending September 30), the company reported sales of Euro 4.3 billion with about 29,800 employees worldwide. In January 2015, Infineon acquired US-based International Rectifier Corporation, a leading provider of power management technology, with revenues of USD 1.1 billion (fiscal year 2014 ending June 29) and approximately 4,200 employees. Further information is available at www.infineon.com

Infineon is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX) and in the USA on the over-the-counter market OTCQX International Premier (ticker symbol: IFNNY).