Casestudy: Security & flexible licensing for Rockwell

There used to be a time when the access to the source code was regulated simply by passwords. Passwords are pretty feeble tools by themselves and human nature adds a further layer of instability. Passwords can in fact be weakly built up and thus easily tracked down, shared intentionally or naively with unauthorized users, and since they are time unlimited in usage the access is provided permanently. Embedded systems that took great investment to see the light and the related processes they are meant at controlling with extreme accuracy deserve the best possible protection. If a password can still be an easy entry system for the deputed programmers to edit the source code of an application, the password should then be saved in a robust container. This two-factor authentication approach represents an effective way to restrict the access to sensitive data to only those that are fully entitled.

 

The Studio 5000 Logix Designer from Rockwell is a design and configuration software that streamlines engineering with outstanding ease of use. Its integrated control system ensures a single and scalable development environment to original equipment manufacturers, system integrators and end users.

Rockwell controllers are programmed through source fi les that are visible from Studio 5000. With the new technology implemented by Wibu-Systems, passwords are no longer saved unencrypted on a local machine, but rather encrypted in a CmContainer from Wibu-Systems. The CmContainer can either be a CmDongle (a tamperproof hardware device embedding a smart card controller) or a CmActLicense (a software license file).

An application, the CSPP (namely CodeMeter Source Protection Provider), is then complementing the offering; it has been specifi cally designed for enterprises to centrally manage passwords. A librarian can grant user’s rights from his CSPP Manager; passwords are transferred through the CodeMeter License Central installed on the corporate server to the fi eld engineer; the latter has the CSPP Client running and interfacing with the Studio 5000, and can enjoy the rights assigned to him for the specific time and functions they have been set for.

Password storage and management is thus turned into a sturdy solution featuring not just the most robust storage technology, but also strong authentication capability and remote password handling, including email update of the complete dongle contents. Moreover all main functionalities that are typical of Wibu-Systems have been implemented, from expiration date setting to usage counters as an alternative to traditional perpetual licensing mechanisms. And to top it off, a CmDongle with Local Storage is backward compatible to all Rockwell source protection keys already in the field by providing a secure storage mechanism for the traditional password file.

The productivity optimization rendered by the Logix architecture through Studio 5000 is now guaranteed to deliver world-class capabilities for all disciplines, from process to safety to motion,
unaffected by any involuntary or fraudulent modifi cations. And original equipment manufacturers can fully capitalize on their own intellectual property development efforts now that the hackers’ life has been made much more complicated.